NEW DELHI, JAN 23Prime Minister Narendra

Modi will address four-five rallies in the capitalbetween Jan 29 and Feb 4 -ahead of the Feb 7 assem-bly election, Delhi BJPpresident Satish Upadhyaysaid Friday.

"Modi ji has a busyschedule but we sought histime and he will beaddressing four or five ral-lies in Delhi," Upadhyaytold reporters here.

The time and venue ofthe rallies have not beendecided yet. "The partywill take a decision on thevenues soon," he said.

Modi had addressed amassive rally in Delhi`sRamlila Maidan Jan 10 in

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MUMBAITemperature: 280CPrecipitation: 0%Humidity: 55%Wind: 18 Km/hr

SHIMLA, JAN 23In a major break-

through, the SpecialInvestigation Team hasrecovered all the idolsand other valuableswhich were stolen fromRaghunathji temple inKullu in December lastyear, a senior policeofficial said on Friday.

"We have recoveredthe idols of presidingdeity Lord Raghunathjiand other antique idolsalong with stolen jew-ellery and valuables,"

ADGP (law and order)Sanjay Kundu said.

The idol ofRaghunathji was recov-ered from Bajaura onborder of Mandi andKullu districts while theidol of Lord Hanuman,a gold plated NarsinhShila (stone), silver idolof Lord Ganesh, a goldlocket and a chain, andsome other articles ofworship were recoveredfrom Beasa Mor, hesaid.

The SIT had zeroed in

on some suspects andhad reliable informationthat the stolen idols hadnot been taken out ofHimachal Pradesh andintensive investigationshelped in detecting theexact location of theplaces where the stolenidols had been hidden,said Kundu. The statepolice had soundedInterpol alert andannounced a reward ofRs 10 lakh for providingcredible information

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

HAQSAADDAFIGHT FOR RIGHTSaturday, January 24, 2015

Delhi polls: AAP's Kumar Vishwastargets BJP's Kiran Bedi

LG Smartphone Shipments Rise 25 Percentin 2014 to 59.6 Million Units: Report

Deepika Padukone learns swordfighting for ‘Bajirao Mastani’

NEW DELHI, JAN 23Sending a clear mes-

sage to Pakistan, USPresident BarackObama has said "safehavens" of terrorismwithin that countrywere not acceptable

and described India asa "true global" partner.

Obama also calledfor those behind theMumbai terror attacksto be brought to justice.

"I have made it clearthat even as the US

works with Pakistan tomeet the threat of ter-rorism, safe havenswithin Pakistan are notacceptable and thatthose behind theMumbai terroristattack must face jus-

tice," Obama said in aninterview to a leadingEnglish magazinewhich is to be pub-lished in its upcomingissue. Obama, whoarrives here January 25on a three-day visit

during which he willbe the chief guest at theRepublic Day Parade,said: "As president, Ihave made sure that theUS has been unrelent-ing in its fight against

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

Obama sets the tone; calls India true partner,asks Pakistan to punish 26/11 perpetrators

P8

CHENNAI, JAN 23The new version era as rep-

resented by the ISIS (IslamicState) is expected to becomemore formidable and Indialikely to be one of the primetargets, former national secu-rity advisor MK Narayanancautioned on Friday.

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

ISIS will become more formi-dable, says MK Narayanan

KOLKATA, JAN 23Stating that a person can be

only called guilty if he isproven guilty in the court oflaw, Trinamool Congress MPDebabrata Bandopadhaya onFriday said 'bad people' of theparty will be removed by thepeople itself. "During Singur,

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

'Bad people' in party will beremoved by people: TMC MP

FARIDABAD, JAN 23Three persons have been

arrested for allegedly hatchinga plot to loot passers-by nearAgra canal here, police saidFriday. Acting on a tip-off thatfew miscreants were planningto loot the passers-by near

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

3 men suspected oflooting passers-byarrested in Haryana

Vol. 1 Issue: 128 Price: Rs.3:00 Reg. No: DELENG/2014/58212 Delhi Edition Pages: 8 Website: www.saaddahaq.in Email: news.saaddahaq@gmail.com

NEW DELHI, JAN 23Terming India Against

Corruption (IAC) movement as"nothing but a well-planned con-spiracy against Congress", thegrand old party Friday said ArvindKejriwal and Kiran Bedi werebefooling people.

Congress leader Ajay Maken at apress conference here said it was a"drama" which was unfolding with

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

'India Against Corruption' was well-plannedconspiracy against Congress: Maken

DARJEELING, JAN 23Amidst the demand for declassi-

fication of secret files relating tothe disappearance of NetajiSubhash Chandra Bose, WestBengal Chief Minister MamataBanerjee on Friday rued that hedid not got the honours hedeserved from "powers that be".

"The final days of Netaji is stilla mystery. What happened to him,

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

Netaji did not get due hon-ours, says Mamata

NEW DELHI, JAN 23India on Friday said Pakistan

should "stop treating terror as astate policy" and ensure that all ter-ror groups are considered as "pari-ah" in its own land if it was seriousin its war against terrorism. Notingthat there is "great disillusionment"in its way of treating terror, Union

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

Pakistan should stop treatingterror as a state policy: VK Singh

HYDERABAD, JAN 23Ahead of the Republic Day

celebrations, CyberabadPolice have stepped up securi-ty in areas under its jurisdic-tion which mostly houseinformation technology andrelated companies. Round-

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

Ahead of RepublicDay, security steppedup in Cyberabad

NEW DELHI, JAN 23Three-time Chief Minister

Sheila Dikshit was on Fridayconspicuous by her absenceduring release of Congress'manifesto for the upcomingDelhi assembly polls in whichthe party highlighted achieve-ment of her 15-year rule.

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

Sheila Dikshit conspicuousby absence at Congressmanifesto release event

NEW DELHI, JAN 23Cyber cafes for students,

cheap power for domesticconsumers and waiver oninflated water bills are someof the promises made by theCongress Friday in its mani-festo for the Feb 7 DelhiAssembly polls.

Extension of Delhi Metro CONTD. ON PAGE 3

Congress releases manifestofor Delhi Assembly polls

P6P2

Delhi polls: PM NarendraModi to address 4-5 rallies

NEW DELHI, JAN 23A major infiltration bid by

Pakistan-based terrorists tostrike ahead of US PresidentBarack Obama's visit hasbeen foiled by the BSFalong the InternationalBorder (IB) in Jammu andKashmir.

Officials said BorderSecurity Force troops lastnight observed movement ofa group of militants trying toinfiltrate into the Indian ter-ritory in the Samba sector.

Immediately after detec-tion of the terrorist move-

ment, they said the troopsfoiled their attempt to sneakinto the Indian side.

"The militants escapedback to Pakistan from wherethey had been launched. Thealertness of BSF troops hasthwarted the militants plot toenter into Indian territoryand carry out terror attackson the eve of Republic Day,"a Home Ministry statementsaid.

President Obama willarrive in the country thisSunday on a three-day visit

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

NEW DELHI, JAN 23Central government offices in and

around North and South blocks will beclosed early on Sunday and Thursday formaking arrangements for the RepublicDay parade and Beating Retreat ceremo-ny.

As many as 71 offices including those inNorth Block, South Block, ParliamentHouse, Rail Bhawan, Sanchar Bhawan,Niti Ayog, National Archives, UdyogBhawan, Nirman Bhawan, ElectionCommission of India, Kota House, JamNagar House, Janpath Bhawan, ReserveBank of India and Vigyan Bhawan willclose by 1 PM on January 25 (Sunday), anorder issued by the Department ofPersonnel and Training (DoPT) said.

Offices in CSIR Building, DoordarshanTower, Krishi Bhawan, Shastri Bhawan,Indira Gandhi National Centre for Art,Rashtrapati Bhawan, National Media

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

MUMBAI, JAN 23Tracking global rally trig-

gered by ECB stimulus meas-ures, the benchmark BSESensex on Friday set a new highof 29,408 points and NSE Niftybreached the 8,800-level for thefirst time as robust capitalinflows continued amid sus-

tained optimism over upcomingBudget.

The 30-share index, however,pared some gains on profit-booking before settling the dayat all-time closing high of29,278.84, up 272.82, or 0.94percent, from its previous close,

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

Sensex, Nifty hit new highs onrobust fund inflows, Budget hopes

Govt offices to beclosed early onJanuary 25, 29

Major infiltration bid foiledalong Indo-Pak border

Raghunathji temple theft:Stolen idols, valuables recovered

Weather ReportDELHITemperature: 170CPrecipitation: 0%Humidity: 53%Wind: 14 Km/hr

KOLKATATemperature: 270CPrecipitation: 0%Humidity: 42% Wind: 14 Km/hr

CHENNAITemperature: 290CPrecipitation: 20%Humidity:63%Wind: 21 Km/hr

NEW DELHI, JAN 23Work for your goals and

dreams tirelessly, withoutstopping or bending.

This was Prime MinisterNarendra Modi's messageto children on Friday as hepresented NationalBravery Awards to 24 ofthem here.

"Bina thake, bina ruke,bina jhuke," he said in hisencouraging words for thechildren at the function.

He said the brave deedsdone by these children area proof that "God has keptin each one of us an ele-ment that inspires us all to

live for others."Everyone gets a chance

to die for others but every-one has a chance to livefor others, he said, adding"however, there are veryfew who are actually ableto accomplish this."

Commending the chil-dren for their brave andselfless acts, the PrimeMinister said they hadshown courage in the faceof adversity, without both-ering about the conse-quences.

The "biggest beauty" ofthe deeds performed by

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

MUMBAI, JAN 23After a gap of four

years, India's foreignexchange reservestouched a new life-time high at USD322.135 billion forthe week endedJanuary 16, driven byhigher inflows andlower outgo of forexon account of a bigslump in global crudeprices.

The reservesjumped by USD 2.66billion to reach USD322.135 billion dur-ing the week, theReserve Bank datashowed Friday.

The forex kitty forthe first time hadcrossed USD 320 -billion mark (USD320.79 billion) forthe week endedSeptember 2, 2011.

"Strong FII inflows

and reduction inimport burden due toa record fall in oilprices have led toaccumulation of thereserves," HariharK r i s h n a m o o r t h y,Treasury Head atFirstRand Bank,said.

Overseas investors

have pumped in USD3,442.29 million intoIndian market mar-kets in this month sofar, according to thedata given by CentralDepository Services.

"Dollar sellingfrom exporters in themarket has

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

Forex reserves hit all-timehigh at $322.14 billion

NEW DELHI, JAN 23Congress president

Sonia Gandhi and formerprime minister ManmohanSingh will meet USPresident Barack ObamaJan 26, on the second dayof his state visit to India,sources said.

Sonia Gandhi andManmohan Singh willmeet Obama at the ITCMaurya hotel, the sourcessaid. The meeting is likelyto take place between 2and 4 p.m. Monday.

It was not yet clear ifCongress vice presidentRahul Gandhi will alsojoin the two top party lead-

ers for the meeting.Manmohan Singh was

prime minister whenObama visited India inNovember 2010.

Obama is known to havehigh regard for ManmohanSingh and had referred tohim as a "good friend".

"I can tell you that hereat the G20, when the primeminister (ManmohanSingh) speaks, people lis-ten, particularly because ofhis deep knowledge ofeconomic issues," Obamahad said in Toronto in2010 before a bilateralmeeting.Obama will be

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

LONDON, JAN 23Seeking to remove the

hurdles in operationalis-ing the Indo-US nucleardeal ahead of USPresident BarackObama's visit beginningSunday, the Indian gov-ernment may throw-insovereign guarantee toaddress the concerns offoreign suppliers overthe nuclear liability law.

Another option, whichwas being explored, wasissuing of catastrophebonds or a blend ofcatastrophe bond andsovereign guarantee,government sources

said, adding that the ideaof catastrophe bond wassuggested by theInsurance RegulatoryDevelopment Authority

(IRDA).Government sources

said, the Department ofAtomic Energy (DAE)

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

Indo-US nuke deal: India maythrow in sovereign guarantee

Sonia Gandhi, ManmohanSingh to meet Barack Obama

NEW DELHI, JAN 23Prime Minister

Narendra Modi's "his-toric" election May2014 was a clear indi-cation of the people'sdesire for "inclusive"and "good gover-nance", US PresidentBarack Obama hassaid.

"Prime Minister

Modi's historic elec-tion clearly reflects thedesire of many Indiansfor economic growththat is inclusive, goodgovernment thatserves citizens, andeducation that deliversthe skills Indiansseek," Obama said inan interview to India

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

Modi's election spells outpeople's desire for good

governance: Obama

PM Modi presents bravery awards;asks children to pursue goals

NEW DELHI | SATURDAY | JAN 24, 2015Delhi News2 SAADDA HAQ

NEW DELHI, JAN 23Targeting Kiran Bedi,

AAP leader KumarVishwas on Friday accusedher of trying to influenceTeam Anna during theLokpal movement againstattacking BJP, triggeringstrong criticism fromCongress which accusedAAP of having "closelinks" with the ruling partyat the Centre.

Viswas claimed Bediattempted to influence AAPleaders including Kejriwalso as to ensure that allegedgraft by BJP governmentsin the states ruled by it wasnot highlighted.

"During the anti-graftmovement, there were fewpeople who were of theview that BJP should not beattacked. Even after theLokpal agitation was over,you have seen Kiran Bedioften saying that in politicslesser evil is chosen.

"Even when AAP was noteven formed, Kejriwal inhis first interview in 2012had said that we talked toBediji and she did not wantany kind of attack on BJP.

"After the coal scam

came to light, we heldprotests outside residencesof then PM ManmohanSingh, Congress ChiefSonia Gandhiji and hadprotested outside NitinGadkari's house also. Bediwho was scheduled to joinin protest outside Gadkari'sresidence did not turn up,"Biswas told reporters here.

Congress leader ManishTewari attacked bothKejriwal and Bedi and said

both they were selectivelytargetting Congress duringanti-graft movement.

"They were cherry pick-ing and they were not pre-pared to talk about thealleged mining scam inKarnataka during BJP'srule. How can even AAPclaim to be an anti-BJPforce when there wererumours that India AgainstCorruption was a B-team ofBJP," he said.

BJP spokesperson GVLNarsimha Rao said AAPwas now "trying to makepolitically motivated alle-gations. Arvind Kejriwalneeds to answer why helobbied so hard withDigvijaya Singh to get aplace in Sonia Gandhi'snational advisoryCouncil."

Congress general secre-tary Ajay Maken said thatthings were now getting

clear that "Kejriwal, Bediand Gen V K Singh werepursuading Anna Hazare tobe soft on BJP and to speakonly against the Congress."

The criticism by Vishwasagainst Bedi came a dayafter AAP-founder ShantiBhushan demandedKejriwal's removal as partychief after the Delhi elec-tions while heaping praiseon Bedi.

"Arvind Kejriwal must

explain why AAP leadershad refrained from attack-ing BJP and only targetedCongress. It proves that theAAP leaders had links withBJP even during the Lokpalmovement," Maken con-tended.

When asked whether shetried to influence TeamAnna against attacking BJP,Bedi chose not to reply.

On Shanti Bhushan'spraise for her, Bedi said shehas thanked him for thecompliment through anSMS and if possible, wouldmeet him. "My office hassent him a message request-ing him to give me time fora personal meeting. I wantto meet him. Whenever hecalls me I will go to meethim."

Earlier Bhushan saidthere was no point in meet-ing Bedi as "We belong totwo different parties" andadded that she should focuson her campaigning.

Bhushan yesterday hadcreated a flutter by praisingBedi and calling BJP'smove to field her as theparty's Chief Ministerialcandidate a "masterstroke".

Delhi polls: AAP's Kumar Vishwas targets BJP's Kiran Bedi

NEW DELHI, JAN 23Guruharkrishan Public

School, Panjabi Bagh cele-brate Republic Day withpatriotic fervour, gaiety andenthusiasm. The celebrationbegan with flag hoistingceremony, the tricolour wasunfurled on the auspiciousoccasion in which a colour-ful programme was also pre-sented by the students. Prizedistributed among studentsafter the programme. Onthe ocassion Gurmeet Singh(Meeta) as Chief Guest ,Guest of Honors areSammerdeep Singh(Sunny), Harpreet KourSondhi, (Vice-ChairmanGurudwara Bangla Sahib &Guruharkrishan PublicSchool), Baljeet Kour (ViceChairman GuruharkrishanPublic School) & HardeepKour were present.

Guruharkrishan Public School celebrate Republic Day

NEW DELHI, JAN 23The Election Commission

(EC) on Friday censured AamAadmi Party (AAP) leaderArvind Kejriwal, ahead of theupcoming Assembly polls, forhis remarks alleging thatBharatiya Janata Party (BJP)incited communal violence inthe national capital.

According to reports, theElection Commission havealso issued a fresh notice toKejriwal for allegedly repeat-edly asking voters to acceptbribe from other parties but tovote for AAP.

Kejriwal had asked the vot-ers to "fool" BJP andCongress by voting for AAPeven after accepting "bribe

money" from them whileaccusing the parties of"deceiving" the people foryears.

"It's election time. Whenpeople both from BJP andCongress come offeringmoney, don't refuse, accept...

some have looted moneyfrom 2G, some have lootedmoney from coal scam. And ifany party does not show up,go to its office and take theamount saying we were wait-ing but you didn't come,"Kejriwal said amid cheers

from the crowd.The former Delhi chief

minister was speaking at arally at west Delhi's Nawadaarea in support of AAP'sUttam Nagar Assembly can-didate Naresh Balyan.

"Take money from both theparties but vote for AAP. Wewill fool them this time. Theyhave been deceiving us for thelast 65 years. Now it's ourturn," he said. The poll panel,which had issued notice to theformer Delhi CM on January17 following a complaint bythe BJP's Delhi unit chiefSatish Upadhyay, said theAAP leader's comments vio-lated the model code of con-duct. Kejriwal has been asked

to respond to the notice by 11am on January 27 and said,"Failing which the ElectionCommission of India shalltake a decision without anyfurther reference to you".

According to the report ofthe Chief Electoral Officer,Kejriwal had said: "The BJPhas been responsible for incit-ing communal riots in variousparts of Delhi in the recentpast." The notice further said:"Now, therefore, the commis-sion hereby conveys its dis-pleasure and censures you(Kejriwal) for the above vio-lation of the model code ofconduct and expects you to bemore circumspect in yourpublic utterances in future."

EC censures Kejriwal over 'communal hatred' remark, issues fresh notice for 'bribe' comment

NEW DELHI, JAN 23A forensic expert Friday

told a court here that the fin-gerprints of the Uber cabdriver, accused of raping awoman executive, matchedwith the fingerprintsobtained from the vehicle inwhich she was allegedlyraped.

Senior scientific officer inthe Central ForensicScience Laboratory(CFSL), Harender Prasadtold Additional SessionsJudge Kaveri Baweja that afew fingerprints were foundin the Swift Dzire car,inside which the womanwas allegedly raped.Testifying as a prosecutionwitness in the case, he toldthe court that the discoveredprints matched with the fin-gerprints of the accused,Shiv Kumar Yadav.

Prasad denied the sugges-tion made by the defencecounsel that he prepared thereport under the instructionsof the police.

The court also recordedthe statement of two otherofficials of the forensic lab,a doctor who examined theaccused and four policeofficials.

A doctor of Hindu Raohospital, Alok Kumar, toldthe court that he found mul-tiple abrasions on the faceof the accused when he wasbrought to him Dec 8.

Sub-Inspector Devendersaid that he did not ask anypublic person to join themwhile arresting the accusedin Mathura fearing some-thing untoward might hap-pen as the accused was alocal.

Yadav, 32, was arrested

by Delhi Police jointly withlocal police Dec 7 from hishideout in Mathura in UttarPradesh.

The trial will continueSaturday and the court willlikely record the statementof two police officials.

Yadav had allegedly rapedthe woman executive in thecab she hired to head backhome in north Delhi`sInderlok area Dec 5 lastyear.

The court last weekframed charges of rape andcausing grievous bodilyharm or endangering the lifeof a woman, kidnapping awoman, criminal intimida-tion and voluntarily causinghurt under various sectionsof the Indian Penal Codeagainst Yadav.

The trial is being conduct-ed on a day-to-day basis.

Uber rape case: Fingerprints of accused match

NEW DELHI, JAN 23The national capital has witnessed

two more death due to suspectedswine flu, which if confirmed willtake the toll to six, health officialssaid here Friday. The officials said28 new cases were also reportedfrom the city. R.N. Das, a seniorofficial from the Directorate ofHealth Services (DHS), said twowomen in their 50s died with thesymptoms similar to those of swineflu. "Two women in their 50s haverecently died with the symptomssimilar to that of swine flu. Whilethe first woman from Chhattarpurwas admitted to SafdarjungHospital, the other woman was fromPatel Nagar and was admitted toRam Manohar Lohia Hospital," saidDas.

"The deaths are being reviewedand can be called swine flu deathonly if confirmed," Das told said.

Following the rise in the numberof swine flu cases in Delhi andmedia`s coverage, the DHS hasstopped its nodal officer CharanSingh from giving updates on newcases to avoid panic among the pub-lic. Delhi has recorded 199 cases ofswine flu till now this year.

The Delhi government has alsoappointed surveillance officers tocheck the treatment of swine flu atthe designated hospitals in thenational capital. A total of 17 gov-ernment hospitals, five private hos-pitals and eight laboratories havebeen designated by the healthdepartment to conduct the swine flutests and treatment.

Two more suspected swine flu deaths in Delhi

NEW DELHI, JAN 23People in Agra would not be able

to use their mobile phones for threehours Tuesday when US PresidentBarack Obama comes calling.

The Uttar Pradesh governmenthas worked out a security plan forthe visit and sent its top officials tothe city to work along with USsecurity officials to overseearrangements and plug gaps, if any.

The entire stretch from Delhi toAgra would remain under high alertJan 27 and for three hours peoplewould not be able to use theirmobile phones in the vicinity of theTaj Ganj area, the Mall road and theFatehabad road as electronic jam-mers would be in operation, offi-cials said.

Late Thursday, Director General(Security) Gopal Gupta, who is thenodal officer for the visit, helddetailed discussions with US secu-rity officials. Additional DirectorGeneral Mukul Goyal also conduct-ed prolonged discussions with localpolice officials to draw up the roadmap for posting police teams along

the National Highway 2 and theYamuna Expressway.

The two roads are already underintensive patrolling by theProvincial Armed Constabulary andthe Rapid Action Force.

The US security agencies are notwilling to take any chances, sourcessaid.

The entire route from the Kheriaairport to the eastern gate of the TajMahal, and inside the complex,would be under the direct supervi-sion of the US commandos.

They would also be keeping aneye from the rooftops of hotels andhouses in the Taj Ganj area.

The chief minister`s programme

is yet to be finalised but GovernorRam Naik would be in Agra earlyJan 27.

Principal Secretary (Home)Devashish Panda and half a dozenother senior officials of the stategovernment are arriving in AgraSaturday to take command of thesituation.

Officials said schools in the areacould be closed Jan 27.

The airport to the Taj stretch ofroad, roughly 12 km, would remainout of bounds for the locals twohours before and after the visit, traf-fic police said.

The US team has identified eightescape routes through satelliteimagery, in case of emergency.These roads would be devoid ofhumans for a similar duration.

All buildings along these routeshave been identified and listed. Thecommandos posted there wouldensure that the people are not per-mitted even to open their windows.

A senior police official told IANSthat there would be close to fourdozen vehicles in the US presi-

dent`s convoy. Obama would betravelling in his bullet and mine-proof limousine - the Beast.

The sources said the thirdadvance party of the US securityteam would Friday arrive for anoth-er rehearsal from the Kheria airportgate to the Taj Mahal.

Special permission is beingsought to allow the vehicles to enterthe Taj Mahal`s eastern gate. ASupreme Court order had directedpeople to get down at the Shilpgramcomplex, 500 metres away, andboard an electric vehicle to theentry gate.

American doctors would Fridayvisit the local Sarojini NaiduMedical College to have a look atthe trauma centre and other facili-ties.

Chief medical officer HS Danusaid all arrangements, including thecritical care ambulance, were inplace. The Archaeological Surveyof India Friday began cleaning thegardens and the entire complex.The ramp will be given a fresh coatof paint.

No mobile service in Taj city during Obama's visit

NEW DELHI, JAN 23Scores of Youth

Congress workers onFriday staged a protestoutside the residence ofInformation TechnologyMinister Ravi ShankarPrasad accusing theNarendra Modi govern-ment of supporting onlinecensorship.

The protesters led bynational president of theoutfit, Amrinder SinghBrar, carried banners andplacards asking the gov-ernment to change its poli-cy in this regard.

Police used water-can-nons and resorted to milduse of force when the pro-testers tried to break barri-cades.

"Many of them weredetained by the police andtaken to ChanakyapuriPolice Station from wherethey were released later,"said a senior police offi-cial.

"On Monday, the ModiGovernment, in a completeU-turn from its earlierstance, filed an affidavit inthe Supreme Court saying

that Section 66A of theInformation TechnologyAct (a law which restrictsinternet freedom) is a justi-fied provision. It furtherclaimed that on internetspace 'the danger was pres-ent and clear' and internetneeds to be 'restricted'," anofficial statement releasedby Youth Congress said.

Speaking to reportersBrar charged the Modigovernment of being"scared of dissenting voic-es against the BJP andthose talking against issueslike Ghar Wapsi,Raamzada etc".

He also termed that gov-ernment's decision as"Anti-Youth" saying that"this government gatheredvotes on the name ofdevelopment but is busydoing everything else".

The IYC Presidentdemanded that the govern-ment must immediatelytake back its affidavit sup-porting online censorshipand amend the anti-youthSection 66A of the IT Actin the next parliament ses-sion.

Youth Congress protestsagainst online censorship

Metro services, parking to berestricted in Delhi from Jan 25-26NEW DELHI, JAN 23

Delhi Metro services will be partially cur-tailed Jan 26 as part of security arrangementsfor Republic Day, an official statement saidFriday. Additionally, all Metro parking lotswill remain closed from 6 am Jan 25 until 2pm Jan 26. According to a Delhi Metro state-ment, while the entry and exit at the CentralSecretariat and Udyog Bhawan Metro stationswill remain closed from 6 am to 12 pm, theentry and exit at Patel Chowk and RaceCourse stations will be closed from 8.45 am to12 pm. "Central Secretariat station will onlybe used for interchange of passengers betweenLine 2 (HUDA City Centre - Jahangirpuri)and Line 6 (Mandi House - Badarpur)," thestatement said.

The Mandi House and Pragati MaidanMetro stations will also be closed for publicfor one hour between 10.45 am and 11.45 am.

"From 10.45 am up to 11.45 am, trains willrun in three short loops on the corridorsbetween Noida City Centre to Indraprastha,Vaishali to Yamuna Bank and Dwarka Sector21 to Barakhamba Road stations on Line 3(Dwarka Sector 21 - Noida City Centre) andLine 4 (Vaishali to Yamuna Bank)," the state-ment said.

Continuation 3NEW DELHI | SATURDAY | JAN 24, 2015SAADDA HAQ

Obama sets...terrorist groups -- a fight in which Indians

and Americans are united."Obama said Prime Minster Narendra Modi's

maiden visit to the US last September was anopportunity for him to benefit from Modi'sresounding mandate in 2014 that imbued "newhopes and energy".

"Now, Modi's election and his commitmentto a new chapter in the relationship betweenour countries, gives us an opportunity to fur-ther energise our partnership."

Obama, who will be the first US president tovisit India twice and the only US president tobe chief guest at the Republic Day parade, saidthe time was opportune to realise his vision forIndia and US as "true global partners".

"I'd like to think that the stars are aligned tofinally realise the vision I outlined in (theIndian) parliament (during last visit) -- Indiaand America as true global partners. That'swhy I accepted the generous invitation tobecome the first US president to attendRepublic Day as chief guest," he added.Obama in his first visit to India in 2010 hadaddressed the joint session of both houses ofparliament.

"On the most basic level, a good India-USrelationship has to be based on the same prin-ciples as our successful partnerships with ourother close partners and friends around theworld," the US president said.

"That includes mutual respect, where evenas we acknowledge our different histories andtraditions, we value the strengths that we eachbring to our relationship.

"It includes recognizing our mutual intereststhat both our countries will be more secure,and our people will have more jobs and oppor-tunities, when we are working together."

The US president said while it was true thatprogress has not always come as fast as bothsides would have liked, "we have succeeded indeepening the US-India relationship acrossthe board".

-"In the last few years, we have increasedtrade between our two countries by about 60percent, creating more jobs for Indians andAmericans," he said, adding that the militariesof the two countries are conducting more exer-cises together.

-Describing his India visit as "an opportuni-ty to work with Modi to make concreteprogress", Obama hoped to embark on a newera in the history of bilateralism between thetwo countries.

"Forging deeper ties between our twonations has been a key part of my foreign pol-icy since I took over office," Obama said.

He also said that he had a strong relationshipwith former prime minister Manmohan Singh,whom he treated as his "close partner".

"Given India's strategic location, we canadvance our shared security and prosperity inthe Asia-Pacific. When India and the US worktogether, both our countries, and the world aremore secure and prosperous," he said.

Modi's election...Today weekly magazine which is published

in its upcoming issue.Referring to Modi's life journey from a tea

vendor to becoming the prime minister of thecountry, Obama said: "His remarkable lifestory -- from tea seller to prime minister -- is areflection of the determination of the Indianpeople to succeed."

He said the prime minister's maiden visit tothe US early last September was an opportuni-ty for him to benefit from Modi's resoundingmandate in 2014 that imbued "new hopes andenergy".

Obama was impressed with Modi's visionfor India as well as the readiness and energyhe exuded to eliminate the barriers hamperingeconomic growth.

The president, arriving in New Delhi Jan 25on a three-day visit to attend the Republic Dayparade as chief guest, saw it as "an opportuni-ty" to advance the new India-US joint visionthat the two countries agreed on during Modi'svisit to the US last year.

Forex reserves...contributed towards higher forex reserves,"

said a chief dealer with a state-owned bank.Analysts also attributed the rise in the

reserves to the likely buying of dollars by theRBI.

RBI has been net purchaser of dollars for themost part of the current fiscal. Last November,the apex bank net purchased USD 3,081 mil-lion worth of the greenback from the spot mar-ket while in October the figure stood at USD2,703 million.

The foreign currency assets (FCAs), a majorconstituent of overall reserves, jumped USD2.685 billion to USD 297.53 billion in thereporting week, the data showed.

FCAs, expressed in dollar terms, include theeffect of appreciation and depreciation of non-US currencies such as the euro, pound andyen, held in reserves.

Foreign brokerage Bank of America-MerrillLynch said in a report today that it expects theforex reserves to reach 10 months' importcover by March 2016, which currently is atabout eight months.

Ever since the Narendra Modi governmentcame to power in May-end, foreign funds hadbeen pumping more and more dollars intoIndian equities.

In 2014, FIIs pumped in USD 16.15 billioninto Indian equities while they have exhaustedthe cap of USD 30 billion in GovernmentSecurities. They have parked USD 32.5 billionin corporate bonds, which is 64 percent oftheir cap of USD 51 billion.

The Bank of America-Merrill Lynch said theEuropean Central Bank's massive bond stimu-lus programme announced yesterday could

further boost foreign flows into emerging mar-kets like India this year, thus offsetting thepossible outflow on account of the US taper-ing.

The American brokerage has estimatedIndia could attract USD 25 billion in portfolioequity flows from the ECB action.

On the rupee side, the rising forex reserveshad the Indian unit becoming the best per-forming Asian currency throughout last year.

So far this year, the domestic currency hasgained around 2.6 percent against the US dol-lar.

Govt offices...Centre, Shram Shakti Bhawan, Jawahar

Bhawan, Red Cross Building, TransportBhawan and All India Fine Arts and CraftsSociety (AIFACS) will be closed by 1 PM onSunday, it said. State Bank Of India, SardarPatel Bhawan, Jeevan Vihar, Jeevan Deep,Jeevan Tara, Dak Bhawan, PNB Bank, UCOBank, AIR India Office in Parliament Streetswill also be closed early.

"Sunday is usually a holiday for almost allcentral government offices but some of theemployees come to office on these days toattend to urgent work. These buildings will belocked down completely on Sunday andnobody will be permitted to access them after1 PM," a DoPT official said.

A total of 28 offices buildings like South andNorth blocks, DRDO Bhawan, NDMC Tower,National Museum, Coast Guard HQs,Archaeological Survey of India, SenaBhawan, Vayu Bhawan, Udyog Bhawan andNirman Bhawan will be closed by 12 noon onJanuary 29 (Thursday), the order said.

Sensex, Nifty...completing gains for the seventh straight

day.The 50-share Nifty rose by 74.20 points or

0.85 percent to end at all-time closing high of8,835.60 after hitting of 8,866.40 intra-day.

Powered by buying across the board theindices also recorded their best weekly gainsin eight months.

The BSE barometer has gained by 1,932.02points or 7.06 percent in the seven days onrobust fund inflows.

Tata Power shot up 6.86 percent, the bestamong Sensex scrips. Taa Motors rose 3.81percent and Bharti Airtel 3.72 percent. Cipla at3.15 percent, Larsen at 2.58 percent wereother major gainers.

However, Gail India fell by 1.80 percent andBHEL 1.67 percent and ONGC 1.09 percent.

The European Central Bank (ECB) yester-day announced stimulus measures to supportthe ailing economy. The ECB said it wouldbuy assets worth 60 billion euros every monthup to the month of September 2016.

"The size of the stimulus was greater thanmarket expectations ... Markets sensed greaterliquidity which is more likely to find its waythrough emerging markets like India," saidRakesh Goyal, Senior Vice President,Bonanza Portfolio.

Brokers said positive investor sentiment inview of pre-budget optimism also helped theequities attract fund inflows.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) continuedtheir buying spree yesterday as they boughtshares worth a net Rs 592.79 crore, as per pro-visional data.

"The remaining part of the quarterly resultsas well as budget expectations will drive mar-kets and specific stocks over the next onemonth.

"Strong action of the fiscal reforms frontwill lead to further rate cuts from the RBI andhelp in overall improvement of growth ratesand profitability," said Dipen Shah, Head,Private Client Group Research, KotakSecurities.

Among BSE sectoral indices, auto was up1.51 percent, followed by realty at 1.48 per-cent, capital goods 1.32 percent, Power 1.17percent, Metal 0.86 percent and Bankex 0.86percent.

Profit-booking at higher level was also wit-nessed in front due to overbought situation,said Alex Mathews, Head Research, GeojitBNP Paribas Financial Services.

Small-cap and mid-cap indices moved downby 0.73 percent and 0.14 percent on fresh sell-ing by retail investors.

As a result, total market breadth remainednegative as 1,802 stocks ended in the red,1,140 closed in the green and 100 ruled steady.Total turnover rose to Rs 4,032.25 crs from Rs3,553.11 crs yesterday.

Asian markets ended higher after ECB'sstimulus move. Key benchmark indices inChina, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, SouthKorea and Taiwan ended higher by 0.25-1.34percent.

European stocks extended their new-yearrally as investors cheered the ECB measures.Key benchmark indices in UK, France andGermany were trading higher by 0.37 1.40percent.

Delhi polls...the run-up to the assembly polls.The Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)

chief said the party will release its manifestofor the assembly polls after Jan 26.

"The manifesto is ready and we will releaseit after Republic Day. It may come out on Jan27 or 28," he said.

Some of the candidates may release theirown manifestos keeping in mind the issues oftheir respective constituencies, he said.

"The party will release one manifesto forDelhi and the candidates will prepare theirown manifestos for their particular constituen-cies," Upadhyay said.

Voting for the 70-member Delhi assembly

will take place Feb 7. Results will be declaredFeb 10.

PM Modi presents...the brave children was that when faced with

a certain situation, they could not stop them-selves from acting with courage, he said,adding that in the process, they had inspiredothers in society.

Observing that the greater responsibility forthese children begins now, he said fame andsuccess can be slippery and therefore they willhave to keep their composure.

Minister for Women and ChildDevelopment Maneka Gandhi was present onthe occasion. The National Bravery Awardsare given to children who distinguish them-selves by performing outstanding deeds ofbravery and meritorious service and inspireother children to emulate their examples.

Indo-US nuke...and Ministry of Finance has been working

on the issue on "day-to-day basis" to end thedeadlock between India and the US over theliability clause under the Civil LiabilityNuclear Damage (CLND) Act 2010, whichwas one of the issues discussed between theofficials of India and the US during their meet-ing here which concluded late last night.

According to the sources, progress wasmade during the two-day meeting of Indo-USContact Group here, but some lingering issuesmay require resolution at the political level.

According to the CLND Act 2010, the oper-ator is required to set aside Rs 1,500 crores incase of a disaster and pay the affected parties.The operator can seek Right to Recourse fromthe suppliers, which makes investment in thenuclear sector by foreign players more diffi-cult.

The government had asked the GeneralInsurance Company (GIC) to insure the atom-ic power reactors, but the public sector under-taking did not have the required monetarycapacity.

Wary of allowing the foreign insurancecompanies in the nuclear sector, the govern-ment then decided to come up with a nuclearinsurance pool, where many companies canpool in the resources to insure the reactors.

"Even if the four government insurancecompanies pool in their resources, they couldonly set aside Rs 750 crores, which is half therequired amount. As per the global norm, theycould only pledge 3 per cent of their net worthfor creation of a new pool. This is half theamount of what is required," said another gov-ernment source.

-"The Ministry of Finance had expressed itsinability to fill in this gap with sovereign guar-antee, citing that they had exceeded the limitfor the year. However, the Department ofFinancial Services has now conveyed to theDAE that it was now ready to give sovereignguarantee to overcome the shortfall," thesources said.

Catastrophe bonds emerged from a need byinsurance companies to alleviate some of therisk they would face if a major catastropheoccurred, which would incur damages thatthey could not cover by the premiums, andreturns from investments using them. Theconcept of catastrophe bond is usually prac-ticed in the US and the Europe.

At a briefing in New Delhi yesterday, thespokesperson in the External Affairs Ministrysaid under the nuclear "rubric", the ContactGroup was discussing administrative arrange-ments, how to actualise India's quest for mem-bership of Nuclear Supplier's Group and alsoissues related to clarification and understand-ing of its nuclear liability regime.

"What is being discussed is how within thefour walls of our legal framework, our legisla-tion, we can provide assurance to our partnersin the US and any concerns that they may haveeither through their vendors or lawyers that isthe discussion that is taking place right now inLondon," the spokesperson said.

Significantly, the talks, which started yester-day, have been extended by a day today.

Noting that "progress has been made" dur-ing the previous negotiations, the spokesper-son said India was looking forward to "effec-tively" work with the US in the "extremelyimportant" nuclear field.

Obama will be visiting India on a three-daytrip, expected to be a tightly-scheduled one,with talks with Prime Minister NarendraModi, attending Republic Day parade as theChief Guest, meeting President PranabMukherjee, interacting with business leaders,a joint radio talk with Modi and a quick visitto Agra to see the iconic Taj Mahal.

Sonia Gandhi...accompanied by his wife Michelle Obama

during the visit. They will arrive in Delhi Jan25.

Major infiltration...during which be will be the Chief Guest at

the Republic Day parade at Rajpath onJanuary 26.

"The BSF has foiled a major infiltration bidalong Indo-Pak border at Samba last night.The alert BSF troops thwarted their infiltrationattempt which was sixth during this month inthis sector," the statement said.

The force is maintaining high alert along theIB to foil any possible similar attempts, it said.

The latest attempt by the terrorists in thisarea assumes significance as during the visitof then US President Bill Clinton in March2000, terror group Lashkar-e-Toiba had target-ed Chittisinghpura village in Kashmir, killing36 people.

Raghunathji temple...about the thieves and later sketches of some

suspects were prepared on the basis of CCTVfootage and released to the media.

A prime suspect is reported have fled toNepal but the police said that more detailsabout the modus operandi adopted by thepolice in cracking the case would be disclosedtomorrow.

-The high profile theft in Raghunathji tem-ple had sent shock waves in Kullu region asLord Raghunathji was presiding deity of 300local deities and during the historic KulluDussehra festival people pay obeisance to thepresiding deity.

The idol of Ragunathji which was supposedto be thousands of years old was brought toKullu from Ayodhya in sixteenth century andwas installed in Raghunathji temple atSultanpur in Rupi Palace of Raja of Kullu.

The idols were stolen on the interveningnight of December 9 and 10, 2014.

'India Against ...the passage of time.He played clippings of a TV channel before

the journalists, showing how AAP leaders likeKumar Vishwas and others were revealing the"truth and the real intention of Kejriwal andBedi, who were then projecting themselves asthe crusaders against corruption".

"It was a conspiracy. It was not a movementagainst corruption but a movement against theCongress and people like Kejriwal and Bedihad hidden agendas...their own colleagues aresaying this," Maken said.

Maken cited Vishwas, whom a TV showquoted as saying that Kiran Bedi former armychief Gen. VK Singh kept insisting to AnnaHazare, who then headed the IAC, that theymust not talk about the BJP but concentrate onand criticise only the Congress only.

Bedi is now the BJP`s chief ministerial can-didate for Delhi, and V.K.Singh is a ministerin the BJP-led central government ofNarendra Modi.

The Congress leader also alleged that the"so-called IAC" was being staged with thehelp of the BJP to present the Congress andUPA government in "bad light".

"It was with the help of the BJP that theyorganised this movement. Congress wants toask if Kejriwal or Bedi would come forwardand clarify (what is being said by Vishwas),"Maken said. "It was a well-planned conspira-cy against Congress and the UPA govern-ment."

Maken also asked the AAP chief to clarifyallegations by one of its founding members,Shanti Bhushan, that party election ticketswere being sold for money, and if he was adictator, as was being said.

On being asked whether Hazare was alsoinvolved in their "game plan", the Congressleader said he was "unaware and was beingmisled".

Pakistan should...Minister General (retd.) V K Singh said that

there was always a "question mark" onPakistan's internal or intelligence policies.

"As somebody looking at Pakistan in termsof seriously getting after terror groups, firstthing that Pakistan has to do is to ensure thatall terror group is treated as a 'pariah' in theirown country. Then not only will Pakistan ben-efit, the the rest of the world will benefit aswell," Singh said during the India TodayGlobal Roundtable here.

Answering a question about the Pakistaniauthorities claiming that the differentiationbetween "good Taliban" and "bad Taliban"does not exist and they would ban all terrorgroups, the minister said every time a terrorgroup was banned, it morphed into somethingelse and even Jamaat-Ud-Dawa has had gov-ernment support.

"The first thing which should happen...Stoptreating terror as a state policy. Somewhere,one finds terror is being used as a tool to fur-ther certain state objectives whether it is fan-ning trouble in Jammu and Kashmir... Wefound the way things increased when the elec-tions came up and yet we had 65 per cent vot-ing. This realisation must come," Singh said.

He said that things will change oncePakistani official establishment along with thearmy and people in decision making get afterterror groups and make it visible in such a waythat people realise their government is serious.

He said that India, as a policy, seeks goodrelations with all its neighbours and has madeit clear to Pakistan that till the time the atmos-phere is not conducive, one cannot talk andimprove relationship.

Noting that entire India stood up to con-demn the recent Peshawar attack, Singh saidthat while on one hand Pakistan condemnssome terror outfits, it supports others which iswhy we see Hafiz Saeed free.

"Where Pakistan's policies areconcerned...Internal, intelligence or otherwise,they always have a question mark. You con-demn and get after terror groups but there arecertain terror groups you still support.

"You say we will ensure that terror groupsdo not survive, yet Hafiz Saeed gets areprieve. There is a great disillusionmentwhen you look at Pakistan's way of treatingterror," Singh said.

Netaji did...no one knows. History is incomplete. Netaji

has not got the honour he deserved from thepowers that be," Banerjee said at a govern-ment programme to observe his 118th birthanniversary here.

Along with some activists, several ofNetaji's family members have been demand-ing release of secret files from governmentrecords which they said can solve the mysteryof his disappearance in 1945.

In a recent RTI reply, the PMO said there

were 41 files related to Netaji, of which twohad been declassified, but theremaining oneswould not made so as the "disclosure would

prejudicially affect relation with foreigncountries".

"Netaji is one of the most inspirational per-sons in Indian history. I am ready to sacrificemy life for preserving the unity of this coun-try," Banerjee said.

"I love my brothers and sisters of the Hills. Iam happy to be in Darjeeling to celebrate thebirthday of the great son of India," said thechief minister, who was here on January 23last year too.

The Trinamool Congress chief also remem-bered the contribution of the Gorkhas in theformation of the Indian National Army (INA).

She announced Rs one lakh assistance eachto 10 poor persons of Sherpa and Rs five croreto the Sherpa Cultural Board for the develop-ment of the community.

Senior Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM)leaders like Roshan Giri, Ramesh Alley andHarka Bahadur Chhetri were present at theprogramme.

ISIS will..."The new version era as represented by the

ISIS will become far more attractive (to theyouth). It already is attractive..," he said at aseminar on 'Foreign Policy and the Media'organised by the Press Institute of India (PII)here.

He said: "With a vision of a virtual state, thecaliphate of ancient Islamic history and theemphasis it places on spiritual purity andexclusionist puritanism, the radical Islamicchallenge is likely to become even more for-midable one than it is at present.

"India is likely to be one of the prime targetsof this," he said, as he listed out challenges heforesaw to the country's foreign policy in thecoming years.

The sub-tendencies currently seen in thecontext of radical Islam might envelope manyother "great religions", thus altering the natureof nations and society.

Enhanced religious rivalry would increaseprospects of sectarian strides and conflicts andwould involve many more sects and religions,he said.

The former West Bengal Governor alsoobserved that the country would face chal-lenges on foreign policy front with neighbour-ing countries.

'Bad people' in ...Nandigram many of us came together for a

cause. We were honest. But now that causedoesn't exist so we are no longer together,"Bandopadhaya, a Rajya Sabha MP said.

When asked who should remove those badpeople from the party, Bandopadhaya said,"Who will remove the bad people? The personwho will remove those people will becomeking, he will become dictator. Neither you norI can remove this people. The people willremove them from their posts."

Bandopadhaya's statement's comes in thebackdrop of several anti-party statementsmade by various party leaders and MPs inrecent past.

"A person is only proven guilty after he ispronounced guilty in the court of law. Thereare three tiers of court- lower court where youare proved guilty, then higher court where youcan make an appeal and then Supreme court.If you are proved guilty in all these threecourts then obviously you are guilty,"Bandopadhaya said.

3 men suspected...Agra canal, a raid was conducted and the

trio of Sonu, Aman and Dharmendra Pandeywas nabbed, police spokesperson, CrimeBranch, DLF said.

One live cartridge and two iron rods wererecovered from their possession, he said.

In another case, a man suspected of carryingout criminal activity was nabbed near thecanal bridge of Madalpur village while roam-ing in the area, police said.

The man was identified as Vakeel, they said,adding that a country-made pistol was recov-ered from his possession.

Ahead of Republic ...the-clock armed check posts have been set

up at all the entry and exit points to screenanti-social elements, a release fromCyberabad Police said today.

T V Shashidhar Reddy, Joint Commissionerof Police Cyberabad, presided over a reviewmeeting with the security chiefs of all majorsoftware companies, star hotels and malls inthe city. The meeting reviewed the existingsecurity system in Cyberabad and it decided tofurther step up the vigil in sensitive areas inview of the Republic Day.

Sheila Dikshit...When asked, DPCC President Arvinder

Singh Lovely refused to give a direct reply butsaid she will also campaign for the party.

"Sheila ji is a very respected leader and youwill see her in election campaign soon,"Lovely said. The manifesto was released at anevent which was attended by Delhi ElectionCampaign Committee chief Ajay Makhen andAICC-in-charge of Delhi P C Chacko besidesLovely and a number of other leaders.

Dikhsit, who was the chief minister from1998-2013 lost the last assembly elections toAAP leader Arvind Kejriwal.

Congress releases...and concessional passes for students also

figure in the manifesto, Part I of which wasreleased by Delhi Congress chief ArvinderSingh Lovely.

Editorial4 NEW DELHI | SATURDAY | JAN 24, 2015SAADDA HAQ

BY VARGHESE K. GEORGE

All its alleged masteryover political strategynotwithstanding, the

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hascontinuously been confusedabout its assessment of the situ-ation in Delhi. The party couldnot wrest power from theCongress for three consecutiveterms, and finally when theCongress collapsed, the emer-gence of the Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) confused the BJP further.The announcement of formerpolice officer Kiran Bedi as theparty’s chief ministerial candi-date is the culmination of thatconfusion and it is more a gam-ble than a master stroke. It is adifferent matter that this gamblemay pay off and those whofound a masterstroke in her pro-jection may claim to haveproven right.

The BJP did not know that itwould win all seven seats inDelhi in the 2014 Lok Sabhaelections. Otherwise, how couldone explain the fact that FinanceMinister Arun Jaitley did notcontest from a constituency inDelhi? Even after it swept Delhiin May last year, the BJP couldnot make up its mind on thefuture course of action regardingthe State. The party delayed theelections as long as it could,until a Supreme Court interven-tion loomed, intermittently toy-ing with the idea of forming agovernment in the previousAssembly. The party could notmake up its mind on whetherforming a government bymanipulation of numbers in aprevious hung Assembly or fac-ing a fresh election would beless damaging for it. The sourceof this confusion was the unfath-omable support for the AAP, andthe intractable factionalism inthe BJP State unit that has hadfour presidents in the last threeyears. Finally, when the elec-tions did fall upon it, the BJPwas unsure of its strategy, partic-ularly on the question of project-ing a chief ministerial candidate.

After the Lok Sabha elections,the party abandoned its long-tested practice of projectingchief ministerial candidates inAssembly elections; it didn’t doso in the Assembly elections inMaharashtra, HaryanaJharkhand and Jammu andKashmir last year.

Redrawin g its strategy

Overbid, overexposed andbruised in the previous season,the AAP and its leader ArvindKejriwal were redrawing theparty’s strategy well in time,even as the BJP was caught ininternal strife and strategic con-fusion. “Many of our candidateswere in an NGO mode in 2013.Now they are no longernovices,” says an AAP strategist.The AAP used the interregnumto separate the grain from thechafe among its own, andannounced candidates for allseats by the first week ofJanuary, dropping seven MLAs,retaining 21 MLAs and 12 oldcandidates. Half of its candi-dates are fresh faces; six arewomen, five are Muslims andsix are Sikhs with an averageage of just above 40.Meanwhile, the AAP’s appealamong the middle class hassagged, as they found inNarendra Modi what they hadsought in Mr. Kejriwal: an incor-ruptible, decisive leader. Thecontinuing disapproval among

the well heeled notwithstanding,the AAP’s appeal among thepoor has only improved. Theparty’s campaign had sharplybeen focussing on the point thatthe BJP had no chief ministerialcandidate in the State; it askedwhether Mr. Modi wouldbecome the Chief Minister of

Delhi. Recurring communalclashes in poorer areas of Delhiin recent months divided thepoor on religious lines, but itselectoral impact may be limited.

The BJP sensed the danger andthe turning point appears to havebeen the January 10 rally of Mr.Modi, the turnout for which wasunderwhelming. The abidingModi factor in Haryana andMaharashtra had already slack-ened in Jharkhand; in Delhi,even the scare of anti-incumben-cy overcame the party. Furtherexposing chinks in the armour,party president Amit Shah had tocancel a campaign programmeas the State unit had not obtainedthe required police permission.Party State unit president SatishUpadhyay also found himself ina controversy after the AAPalleged that he had businesslinks with a Delhi power distri-bution company. Once it becameclear that it was no longer wiseto rely on the ‘Modi factor,’ andthat there was hardly anyone inthe State unit who had the pro-file to take on Mr. Kejriwal, Ms

Bedi increasingly appeared theonly choice. “Not that she is theideal candidate, but that othersare worse swung the situation inher favour,” points out a Stateparty leader. The party refutedthis suggestion. “Whether tohave a chief ministerial candi-date or not depends on the par-

ticular situation in a State. Butthe fact that someone likeKiranji came to the party, pro-claiming her trust in Modiji ’sleadership actually proves thePrime Minister’s increasing —not decreasing — popularity,”said Shrikant Sharma, the BJPnational secretary. Ms Bedi’sprojection has sent a stern mes-sage to the warring State leadersand further reinforced the Modi-Shah duo’s command over theBJP overall, getting the partyback on track.

With a BJP chief ministerialcandidate in place, the AAP haschanged its strategy overnight,and it will now try to trip MsBedi on stage, as her public rela-tions and oratory skills are lessthan inspiring and are potential-ly self-destructive. Mr. Kejriwalchallenged her to an opendebate, but she turned it downsaying that the debate can takeplace after the elections, on thefloor of the Assembly. “We shallseek her positions on full state-hood to Delhi, electricity pric-ing, women’s security, ‘ghar

vapsi,’ etc. Let the people ofDelhi know where she stands onthese issues,” said NagendarSharma, AAP leader. Since shewas a comrade of Mr. Kejriwalin the India Against Corruptionmovement, which was the fore-bear of the AAP, the party willnot question her on her trackrecord as a police officer orother personal controversies.But unattached individuals andgroups are likely to stir propa-ganda that will question MsBedi’s administrative skills andacumen.

The Congress’ worry

While it is certain that the pri-mary poles in Delhi are the BJPand the AAP, the Congress’ per-formance will have a bearing onthe fortunes of both. The AAPand the Congress broadly sharethe same social base; theCongress’s efforts to regroupand revive can damage theprospects of the AAP. Indeed,the Congress is worried aboutthe AAP coming to power,which could mean a death knellto the former. The party’s prefer-ence is a hung assembly or aBJP government, in the hopethat the AAP will not be able tosustain itself until another elec-tion. Congress strategistsbelieve that the more the elec-tion is getting local, the moreadvantageous the situationwould be for the party. “That theBJP has to bring in Ms Bedi isan admission that [the] Modifactor is not working. When thecontest is constituency-wise, wehave a tremendous advantage, asour candidates are more con-nected to the people than theBJP’s and the AAP’s,” said AjayMaken, Congress campaigncommittee chief.

If the Congress reclaims partof its traditional voters who hadshifted to the AAP, that will ben-efit the BJP. In other words, theBJP’s Bedi gamble will paydepending on the fortunes of theCongress.

India is unique in having a significant number of tigersin the wild, in spite of growing population and resourceextraction pressures on their habitat. The latest esti-

mate of tigers in various landscapes published by theMinistry of Environment and Forests claims an apprecia-ble rise in numbers of the big cat. That there could be asmany as 2,226 tigers in the country — up from 1,706 fouryears ago — in nature reserves ranging from the hills in theNortheast to central Indian forests and the Western Ghats,besides the mangrove-rich Sundarbans delta, gives India aspecial place on the global conservation map. Clearly,some States deserve credit for strengthening the protectionof wild tigers since the notorious wipeout in Sariska adecade ago. Such conservation measures, notably theextension of protected area boundaries, must continue. Yet,as credentialed scientists are pointing out, the numbersavailable from the latest count may merely indicate thepresence of tigers in a given area, rather than serve as theconclusions of a definitive census. What they highlight isthe need to improve those aspects of the ecology that leadto a rise in numbers — voluntary relocation of forest-dwellers from core forests, a severe crackdown on thehunting of prey animals, improved patrols against poach-ing, safeguards against harmful land-use changes and con-stant monitoring using scientific methods. The science ofconserving tigers, arguably the most charismatic animalson the planet, is increasingly focussed on saving ‘sourcepopulations’ of the cat. These are defined in the literatureas sites where more than 25 breeding females can be host-ed, in turn embedded in a larger landscape that can poten-tially have more than 50 female tigers and which enjoyprotection. By some accounts, 70 per cent of the world’stigers are to be found in such sites; in India, 90 per cent ofthe population is part of 30 or 40 major source populations.As the Wildlife Conservation Society has pointed out, con-servation of this stock holds the key to achieving a signif-icant rise in their numbers in the coming years — poten-tially, India could have several thousand more if it providesthem the requisite space and the connected landscapes thatfacilitate dispersal. In the current counting exercise, theCentre has done well to include non-governmental expertsand rely on improved methods such as camera trapping,although it is yet to move to continuous monitoring andannual assessments. The government must be open to theidea of more intensive research within forests to protect thetiger and other endangered species, and adopt a liberalapproach to permit bona fide independent scientists towork in protected areas. The encouraging status report ontigers awaits refinement and confirmation in March.

The science of saving tigersSaturday | January 24, 2015

SAADDA HAQ

BY M. K. NARAYANAN

Visits to India by world leadersare routinely high profileevents. A visit by the

President of the United States has theadded attraction of high expectations.President Barack Obama’s comingvisit — the second during hisPresidency — has raised expecta-tions by several notches and greatlyraised the stakes, coming as it does sosoon after Prime Minister NarendraModi’s highly successful visit to theU.S.

U.S. Presidents, in their secondterm, tend to be generally moreexpansive in their attitude towardsIndia than during their first term.Presidents Bill Clinton and GeorgeW. Bush demonstrated this in amplemeasure. Mr. Obama did not, howev-er, wait for his second term todemonstrate his desire to strengthenthe relationship with India. The effu-sive welcome that he afforded formerPrime Minister Manmohan Singh in2009, including holding his first StateBanquet in honour of the Indianleader is part of diplomatic folklorein Washington and New Delhi.

Mr. Obama would no doubt retainwarm memories of the tumultuousreception he received when headdressed the Indian Parliament dur-ing his visit in 2010. The visit, ineffect, demonstrated that the era ofestranged democracies had come toan end and the era of engaged democ-racies had come into being. Thistime, if anything, a warmer welcomeawaits him, as the first U.S. Presidentto be the chief guest at the RepublicDay celebrations on January 26.

‘Natural allies, global partners’

In contrast, visits of Indian PrimeMinisters to Washington have gener-ally been low key and strictly limitedto the business on hand. Mr. Modibroke this mould during hisSeptember 2014 visit to the U.S. Hiswas a visit rich in symbolism and, attimes, as in the case of his MadisonSquare Garden appearance, a highprofile media event. This was amongthe many departures from establishedpractice and protocol that Mr. Modieffected with excellent results.

It is difficult to see how the rhetoricemployed by both sides during thePrime Minister’s visit to the U.S. canbe bettered. On his part, Mr. Modiwent much beyond former PrimeMinister A.B. Vajpayee’s reference to

India and the U.S. as being “naturalallies,” and substantially raised thebar when he said that India and theU.S. are “natural global partners”embodying the enduring and univer-sal relevance of their shared values.The Prime Minister further addedthat the complementary strengths ofIndia and the U.S. could be used forinclusive and broad-based globaldevelopment to transform livesacross the world.

There is considerable scope, how-ever, for fine-tuning many of theissues that were discussed inWashington — which require satis-factory closure — such as clean ener-gy, the Bilateral Investment Treaty,climate change issues, WTO-relatedmatters, foreign direct investment(FDI) and Intellectual PropertyRights. None of these items is how-ever likely “to set the Jamuna onfire.” Renewal of the DefenceFramework Agreement (first signedin 2005 as a prelude to the visit of Dr.Singh to Washington) and theDefence Technology and TradeInitiative again will hardly amount toa breakthrough in relations that both

sides seek. This is the age of teleolo-gy, and the second Modi-Obamasummit will in all likelihood bejudged by the quality of the dialoguerather than the number of agreementssigned.

Visits and the results

There are certain inherent risksconnected with high profile visits andsummit diplomacy. Seldom do theylead to anticipated results. India-U.S.relations are replete with instances ofthis kind. Old-timers will recall theexcitement concerning U.S.President Eisenhower’s visit to Indiain 1959, only to be followed soonthereafter by a U.S. “tilt” towardsPakistan, and a stream of military andother forms of aid to that country. Mr.Clinton’s visit to India during his sec-ond term did lead to a perceptiblethaw in India-U.S. relations, but thevisit itself did not produce a newdawn in terms of the relationship.

On the other hand, low key visitsdo sometimes produce dramaticresults. Dr. Singh’s visit toWashington in 2005 hardly compareswith that of Mr. Modi’s in 2014 interms of coverage and publicity, butthe results were near transformation-al. The first significant breach in the“nuclear Great Wall,” leading to thedismantling of the nuclear apartheidregime occurred during this visit.

Likewise, the visit of PresidentBush to India in 2006 hardly com-pares with the kind of adulationshowered on his successor, but it pro-duced a critical breakthrough relatingto the Separation Plan (viz., separa-

tion of India’s strategic militaryweapons programme from its civiliannuclear programme), an essentialcomponent for finalisation of theIndia-U.S. nuclear deal. The personalinvolvement of the U.S. Presidentand the Indian Prime Minister wascrucial for this, as at one stage nego-tiations had virtually collapsed.

Dr. Singh’s visit to the U.S. in 2009— another low key visit — led to tak-ing the final step, thus paving theway for India to trade in nuclearmaterials with countries across theglobe. This was a one-of-a-kindinternational agreement, seldom seenin the diplomatic history of nations.

It is not often in a generation thatan opportunity for a meeting ofminds of this kind occurs. Mr. Obamaand Mr. Modi must, hence, set theirsights high, to try and produce atransformational impact. Withoutbelittling the efforts needed to sortout prickly issues such as the“Nuclear Liability Law” (which hasbeen holding up India-U.S. nuclearcooperation), as also other stepsrequired to enhance the political and

military dialogue further by renewingthe U.S.-India Defence FrameworkAgreement for another ten years, theopportunity provided by the Summitshould be utilised for some “big tick-et” items.

The world is, today, at a tippingpoint. At one level, geography andnationalism are striking back withrenewed vigour. Across continents,nations appear to be reverting to thesyndrome of fractured smaller States(already evident in West Asia). Thereis a growing arc of violence andupheavals in regions like West Asia.As radicalist ideas and beliefs gainascendancy in the region and beyond,the spectre of asymmetric warfareand terrorism haunts many regions.

China’s assertiveness

At another level, the world has totake note of China’s increasingassertiveness — not only in dealingwith issues directly affecting its terri-torial claims — but going wellbeyond the “Nine-dash-lines” that ithad historically limited itself to.There are again signs of a growingrapprochement between Russia andChina, with “oil diplomacy” pavingthe way for reinforcement of militaryties. The intention is possibly tocounter the U.S. pivot towards Asia,but the Russia-China axis will havean impact elsewhere as well, includ-

ing in West Asia, of eroding the influ-ence of countries like the U.S. andIndia. Internal developments inChina, even as President Xi Jinpingseeks to emerge as China’s mostpowerful leader since DengXiaoping, also merit careful assess-ment.

A summit of this nature thus pro-vides an opportunity for an all-encompassing look at geopolitics andgeoeconomics across the region andbeyond. This option should not beforeclosed by concentrating on thesmaller items. A comprehensive dis-cussion of this nature would be a sig-nificant outcome worthy of a summitof this nature. The Prime Minister’sstatement that India and the U.S. are“natural global partners” would thenring true.

Possibly what is most important forthe two leaders is to establish anexceptional level of trust, and rein-force their personal chemistry goingbeyond mere bonhomie. This is vitalif they are to cut through bureaucrat-ic tangles at critical junctures. TheIndia-U.S. nuclear deal is a primeexample of what can be achievedwhen two leaders have full trust ineach other, for it was this level oftrust that led to the resolution ofextremely difficult issues when therespective bureaucracies appearedadamant in holding fast to their view-points.

Mr. Obama has two more years inoffice, while Mr. Modi will havemore years thereafter. The comingtwo years are critical if India and theU.S. are to achieve the full potentialin terms of their relationship. It is,hence, important that the leaders arenot deflected from the key task ofstrengthening their personal bondsfor this could well be the most valu-able asset in their armoury to sort outnot only mutual problems, but also arange of global issues.

(M.K. Narayanan is a formerNational Security Adviser and for-

mer Governor of West Bengal.)

Going beyond bonhomie

Our team will publish yourthoughts send us your articles at

news.saaddahaq@gmail.com

A game changer or a gamble?

The BJP did not know that it would win all seven seats in Delhi in the2014 Lok Sabha elections. Otherwise, how could one explain the factthat Finance Minister Arun Jaitley did not contest from a constituencyin Delhi? Even after it swept Delhi in May last year, the BJP could notmake up its mind on the future course of action regarding the State.The party delayed the elections as long as it could, until a SupremeCourt intervention loomed, intermittently toying with the idea of

forming a government in the previous Assembly.

There are certain inherent risks connected with high profile visits and summitdiplomacy. Seldom do they lead to anticipated results. India-U.S. relations arereplete with instances of this kind. Old-timers will recall the excitement con-cerning U.S. President Eisenhower’s visit to India in 1959, only to be followed

soon thereafter by a U.S. “tilt” towards Pakistan, and a stream of military andother forms of aid to that country. Mr. Clinton’s visit to India during his secondterm did lead to a perceptible thaw in India-U.S. relations, but the visit itself

did not produce a new dawn in terms of the relationship.

AHMEDABAD, JAN 23The Ahmedabad School Board has

whipped up a controversy with its circularasking all schools to hold 'SaraswatiVandana' on Vasant Panchami tomorrow,drawing accusations of promoting rulingBJP's Hindutva agenda and warnings oflegal action and protest by Congress.

"Vasant Panchami is the occasion toremember Goddess of knowledge MaaSaraswati Devi. To make students under-stand the importance of education, schoolsneed to organize Saraswati Puja and makestudents recite prayers of Saraswati duringprayer gathering. Also, make them under-stand how Vasant Panchami is celebrated inother states," reads the January 19 circularissued by the board. Ahmedabad MunicipalCorporation's (AMC) School Board runsaround 450 primary schools in the city,including 64 Urdu medium schools, mostlyin Muslim dominated areas attended by

around 16,000 students from the minoritycommunity. The circular has raised thehackles of opposition Congress, which hasdubbed the move as an attack on the funda-mental rights of Muslims. All forms ofidolatry is prohibited in Islam. Congresscouncillor from Sarkhej ward Haji MirzaBaig called it an attempt to promote theBJP's Hindutva agenda. "In a democracy,everyone has the right to follow their reli-gion and related rituals. This circular is anattack on the freedom of not only Muslims,but also of other religions. Why (do) theywant Muslim students to perform puja? Itshould not be made compulsory in Urduschools," said Baig. "Congress councillorswill stage protest against such dictatorialapproach of AMC. Urdu schools, wheremajority students are Muslims, must bekept away from this order. Otherwise, wewill take legal action and knock the doorsof the court," he warned.

State Watch 5NEW DELHI | SATURDAY | JAN 24, 2015SAADDA HAQ

RAIPUR, JAN 23Chief Minister Raman Singh

on Friday directed to developthree places as bird conserva-tion zones on the outskirts ofthe capital here.

"The Chief Minister hasissued instructions for declaringGidwa, Parsada and Mandharareas in Raipur district as?BirdConservation Zones, during ameeting of Chhattisgarh StateWild-Life Conservation Boardat Mantralaya," a public rela-tion official said. "In order tosafeguard the bio-diversity ofnature, protection of wildlife isvery essential. Fruit and flower-bearing trees should be grownin bird conservation areas toattract wide species of birds,"the official quoted CM as say-ing in the meeting.

Singh also instructed officials

to grow such trees in theupcoming new-capital NayaRaipur and surrounding areasthat can attract birds to buildnests in the vicinity. Expressingconcern over the recent cases ofloss of life and property due towild elephants in northChhattisgarh, Singh ordered theofficials to pay compensation tothe families affected at the ear-

liest.He further asked that 'Radio

Collars' should be attached tothe wild elephants so that therural folks will know when thetuskers approach the area.

Meanwhile, he also orderedofficials to make necessaryarrangements for conductingcensus of the bears in the state.

The Conservation officialsrevealed that there are about3,000 bears in the state, whichis said to be the largest in thecountry, the official said.

The Chief Minister on theoccasion appreciated the factthat the number of tigers hadincreased in Chhattisgarh.

MLAs - Mahesh Gaagada,Chintamani Maharaj, ChiefSecretary Vivek Dhand, boardmembers and other officialswere present in the meeting.

Chhattisgarh CM directs to developthree bird conservation zone in state

Gujarat directive on 'SaraswatiVandana' in schools kicks up storm

PANAJI, JAN 23Goa MLA and BJP

leader Vishnu SuryaWagh on Fridayaccused DefenceMinister and formerChief MinisterManohar Parrikar ofusing him during theelection campaign anddiscarding later.

"Our great leader andthe honourableDefence Minister ofthe country hasinstructed all BJP min-isters and MLAs to'disconnect' themselvesfrom Vishnu SuryaWagh," he said onFacebook.

Wagh, a

Congressman whojoined BJP on the eveof 2012 Goa Assembly

elections, further said,"many many thanks toour beloved "Bhaiyya"

for suggesting this,since it was he who gotme connected to theparty.

"(Parrikar) used meto give speeches, writeand compose songs,prepare campaignmaterial and help in hisresurrection as GoaChief Minister. Well,he has moved stillupward and it is quitenatural," Wagh added.

The state BJPrefused to comment onWagh's outburst. Asenior BJP leader saidthe party would like todistance itself from anysuch comments by thelegislator.

Goa BJP leader Vishnu Waghfulminates against Parrikar

PATNA, JAN 23BJP chief Amit Shah on

Friday hit out at former Biharchief minister Nitish Kumaraccusing him joining handswith Congress to pursue hispersonal ambitions to becomethe Prime Minister and said hewas going against the principlesof socialist leader KarpooriThakur.

"Karpoori Thakur is knownfor his contribution in the upliftof the backward classes, forwhom he dedicated his entirelife.

"He also fought againstCongress till his last breath.Instead of taking inspirationfrom him by following his prin-ciples, you sided with Congressto be in power. You have noright to remember or talk ofThakur and his principles,"

Shah said while attackingKumar. Addressing a rally inmemory of Thakur, a formerBihar Chief Minister, Shah said

Kumar sided with Congress andRJD Chief Lalu Prasad afterbreaking the 17-year-oldalliance with BJP.

Lauding the people of Biharfor voting for the NDA andbringing Narendra Modi topower, the BJP leader soughttheir support to help give hisparty an absolute majority inthe next Assembly election toensure all-round developmentof the state.

He said, "For 17 years,JD(U)-BJP alliance in Biharwas fighting against Congressand Lalu Prasad. For your(Kumar's) personal ambition ofbecoming the Prime Minister,you broke the alliance withBJP."

This was Shah's first publicrally in Bihar where BJP is eye-ing to form its government inthe Assembly polls due laterthis year and the party's focus isto wrest power in the state fromJD-U.

Nitish Kumar aligned with Congressto fulfill his ambition to be PM: Shah

Top NDFB(S) operativearrested fromBangaloreGUWAHATI, JAN 23

NDFB-Songbijit's top leaderBurlung Bhutur has been arrestedby the Karnataka Police inBangalore on Friday on a tip offfrom the Assam Police, said a policeofficer here. The militant alsoknown as Birkhang Basumatarywas directly involved in the killingof eight Adivasis at Lungsung onDecember 23 and six Hindi-speak-ing persons at Serfanguri inKokrajhar district of Assam onJanuary 16 last year, IGP LRBishnoi said. Terming the arrest as a"big catch", Bishnoi said the arrestwas made on a tip off by the AssamPolice. The NDFB(S) had launchedan attack on adivasis in Sonitpurand Kokrajhar districts onDecember 23 last following whichthere was retaliatory violence andpolice firing resulting in the killingof 81 persons. Earlier on January 16last year six Hindi-speaking personswere shot dead after the armedinsurgents pulled down around 12passengers from a bus coming fromto Shillong and opened fire on themat Athiabari under Serfanguri policestation.

ARA, JAN 23A powerful bomb blast took

place inside the premises of acivil court in Bihar's Ara districtkilling at least three people andinjuring several others on Friday.

According to an eyewitness, amiddle-aged woman, who enteredthe court premises carrying acrude bomb hidden in her purse,died along with two others on thespot due to the explosion.

The bomb went off when shewas intercepted by a constablefrom approaching a nearby prisoncell.

The deceased woman's identityis yet to be established. Thewoman is believed to have cometo meet a prisoner, who was dueto be produced before a magis-trate here.

Out of the two, who have diedin the incident, one is said to be aBihar Police constable, as perreports. Ara District Magistratehas also confirmed the death of apoliceman and a woman in theBihar civil court blast.

Gupteshwar Pandey, ADG,Bihar Police told reporters later

that two people have died andover half a dozen people havesustained serious injuries due tothe blast in Ara civil court. Allangles are being probed, Pandeysaid.

At least sixteen people havesustained serious injuries in theincident, media reports say.

Those injured have been rushedto a nearby hospital for treatment.

Local police officials are at theblast site and probe is on. Thenature of blast is yet to be ascer-tained. Meanwhile, a team ofNational Investigation Agency(NIA) is expected to arrive hereshortly to collect forensive evi-dence from the blast site to ascer-tain the nature and the intensity ofthe blast.

All exits of the civil court havebeen sealed and the court premis-es is being thoroughly searched.However, taking advantage of thechaotic situation, two hardcoreprisoners have managed to escapefrom law. A hunt is on to nabthem and all nearby police sta-tions have been alerted.

A mobile phone has also been

recovered from the blast site thecontent of which will be analysedfor more leads in the case, apolice official was quoted as say-ing.

Speaking to media, Singh saidthat prima facie it appears to bean attempt to free some hardcorecriminals. The matter is beingprobed and the picture will beclear soon, Singh was quoted assaying to the media.

The Home Ministry has, how-ever, sought a detailed reportregarding the blast from theGovernor of Bihar.

Initial investigation suggeststhat the bomb blast in the Aracivil court could be part of a big-ger conspiracy either to securerelease of more hardcore crimi-nals or create unrest in the region.

The incident also exposes seri-ous gaps in the security arrange-ments put in place around impor-tant installations in Bihar, espe-cially when all major states are athigh alert regarding US PresidentBarack Obama's visit to attend theRepublic Day celebrations asChief Guest.

KOLKATA, JAN 23Trinamool Congress

General Secretary Mukul Roy,who was summoned by theCBI for questioning in con-nection with the Saradhascam, on Friday said he wasnot avoiding the investigatingagency but following his ownschedule. On being asked byreporters about why he wasavoiding the CBI, "Questiondoes not arise about avoidingCBI... I am following my ownschedule." "I have always saidI will cooperate with theinvestigation," Roy said afterlanding at the city airport fromNew Delhi this evening.

"I have already sent a letter(to CBI) that I will go and jointhe interrogation process onand around January 28onwards," he said.

"I have stated that I wouldbe busy in connection with the

Netaji birth anniversary pro-grammes on January 23,Republic Day parade onJanuary 26 and I have beeninvited to attend the At Homefunction at RashtrapatiBhavan on that day. I havesaid that you (CBI) can ask meto appear any time after 2 pmon January 28," Roy had saidyesterday. Roy, former

Railway Minister, was earlierasked to appear before CBI forinterrogation by yesterday.

CBI had said that interroga-tion of Roy was important tocharge sheet West BengalTransport Minister MadanMitra who has been arrested inconnection with the Saradhascam and is now in jail cus-tody.

Mukul Roy says he's following own sched-ule, not avoiding CBIReddy's release

SHIMLA, JAN 23Cold wave conditions further

intensified in Himachal follow-ing fresh snowfall and heavyrains in some parts of the stateeven as Shimla witnessed thecoldest night of the season witha low of minus 2 degrees.

Tribal areas and higher hillsexperienced fresh snowfallwhile mid and lower hillsreceived widespread rains.

Shimla which received 4 cmof snow and 21 mm rainfallshivered under piercing?coldwave conditions as icy windslashed the region and skyremained overcast.

High altitude tribal areasreceived moderate to heavysnowfall while mid and higherareas, including key touristresorts of Kufri, Narkanda,Manali, Sangla and Chitkul, hadmoderate snowfall.

Upper reaches of Manali and

Rohtang Pass received 50-60 cmof fresh snowfall?whileBharmaur recorded 20 cm ofsnow, followed by Sangla 12cm, Kalpa and?Udaipur 9 cm,Keylong 7 mm, Narkanda,Moorang, Nichar, Kharapattharand?Mashobra 5 mm.

Heavy intermittent rainslashed the mid and lower hillsand Una was wettest with 44mm rains followed by Palampur39 mm, Hamirpur 38 mm,Bangana 36 mm, Dharampurand Kasauli 32 mm each,Sujanpur and Tira 31 mm.

While Nadaun received 29mm rainfall, Chail and Berthinreceived 28 mm each.

Mehre, Gohar and Kasolrecorded 27 mm rainfall whileKotipura and Dharamshalarecorded 25 mm, Jubbarhatti 24mm, Arki 23 mm, Kahu, Jubbal,Manali and Kheri 21 mm each.

The high altitude areas reeled

under arctic conditions withmercury staying 15 to 22degrees below the freezing pointwhile Kalpa and Keylongrecorded a low of minus 6degree and minus 3.5 degreesrespectively.

Manali recorded a low ofminus 1.6 degrees followed byDharamsala 3.4 degrees,Palampur 3.5 degrees, Bhuntar4.5 degrees, Una and Solan 5.5degrees, Sundernagar 6.6degrees and Nahan 8.1 degreeCelsius.

The maximum day tempera-tures dropped by one to twodegrees and stayed below nor-mal across the state.

The local MeT office has pre-dicted dry weather over the nexttwo days and more snowJanuary 26 onwards as a freshfeeble Western Disturbance asan upper air system would affectthen.

Snow, rains intensify cold wavein Himachal Pradesh

Ara bomb blast: 3 dead, sever-al injured; Centre seeks report

PANAJI, JAN 23The four-day Grape

Escapade, an annual wineand lifestyle festival thatwas to begin Friday, hasbeen truncated to threedays by the NationalGreen Tribunal asRepublic Day will be a`dry day`.

The Western Zonebench of the NGT Fridaydirected the Goa govern-ment to limit the four-dayfestival (Jan 23-26) tothree days, and censuredthe authorities for pro-moting sale of liquor onRepublic Day.

"The CRZ (coastal reg-ulatory zone) permissionshall not be granted so faras Jan 26 is concerned forholding such festival.Nor any public authorityshall allow sale of liquorthroughout the state ofGoa, which shall bedeclared as `dry day`,"NGT`s two-member Punebench comprising Justice

VR Kingaokar and expertmember Ajay Deshpandesaid in their order Friday.

The Grape Escapade2015, is being billed bythe host agency, the gov-ernment-run GoaTourism DevelopmentCorporation (GTDC), asone of India`s largestwine festivals.

This year`s edition willsee the participation ofleading wineries like BigBanyan, Sula Vineyards,Grover ZampaVineyards, Four Seasons,Fratelli Wines, Charosa,etc.

Musical extravaganzasas well as exotic cuisinesare expected to be thehighlights of the festivalwhich gets underway lateFriday.

The NGT bench, whileordering Republic Day tobe left out of the itiner-ary, directed a senior offi-cial of the Goa CoastalZone Management

Authority (GCZMA) toensure that its order isimplemented.

"We direct the authori-ties, particularly, themember secretary ofGCZMA to ensure that nopermission be granted toconduct such festival onRepublic Day on beachesor party of Goa and thatRepublic Day shall becelebrated with all sancti-ty in keeping with pream-bles of the Constitution,under which all states areexpected to work," theorder said.

A petition was earlierfiled by Goa-basedKashinath Shetye againstthe hosting of the festivalon the national holiday.

"The states cannotchange their policies asper their will and desirebecause of their ownlocal traditions, whichwere made in the past,"the order furthersaid.

Can't hold wine festival inGoa on Republic Day: NGT

580 km roads built in Naxal-affected areas ofChhattisgarh in 4 yrsRAIPUR, JAN 23

A total of 580 kms of roads were con-structed in the past four years in the insur-gency-hit regions of Chhattisgarh, a sen-ior officer said here.

Between 2011 and 2014, 18 roads wereconstructed in the Naxal-affected areas,the officials informed at a review meetingchaired by chief secretary Vivek Dhandyesterday.

During the meeting Dhand directed thatconstruction of all the 22 planned roads,their length adding up to 982 km, in thethe Naxal-hit regions should be complet-ed within the prescribed time.

Construction of roads in the insur-gency-hit areas would get a priority,Dhand said. Senior administrative, policeand forest officials should jointly reviewthe development of road work, he added.

Naidu bumpsinto old friendMS founder BillGates at DavosHYDERABAD, JAN 23

On the final day of his Davostrip, Andhra Pradesh ChiefMinister N ChandrababuNaidu was taken by a surprisewhen he bumped intoMicrosoft founder Bill Gateson Friday at the WorldEconomic Forum AnnualSummit.

"Bill Gates, an old friend ofthe chief minister, said he washappy to see him after 10 longyears. He congratulated Naiduon his new gig," chief minis-ter's office here said in a state-ment. Gates invited the chiefminister to a private dinnerbeing hosted by him tonight atthe WEF. Naidu also met withMicrosoft CEO Satya Nadellaand discussed about invest-ment opportunities, the state-ment said.

At a time when thecountry is launch-ing another round

of spectrum auctions inFebruary and telecomoperators are vying forallocations, global tele-com infrastructureprovider UTStarcom isconfident that India's top20 cities will be fully Wi-Fi enabled by the end of2015.

"Wi-Fi will complimentdata offload applications,which is something thatall operators are imple-menting worldwide. Indiaalso has started (on this).By the end of 2015, Wi-Fiwill be a reality in India.It will be there in top 20cities in India, full cover-age," Rahul Pandey,director - sales (SAARCCountries) at UTStarcom,said.

Wi-Fi is the popularterm for a high-frequencywireless local area net-work technology.

UTStarcom, with itsoperation headquarters inHong Kong, recorded a$160 million turnover in2013, with India being thesecond highest marketafter Japan. The companyhas been present in Indiasince 2000 and hasworked extensively withprivate and public playersin deploying telecominfrastructure.

"After 2G, everyone(operators) came to 3Gand paid for spectrum.

There will be a stage theywill be running out ofspectrum to expand. So,that is the time, typically,when Wi-Fi comes in,"UTStarcom chief execu-tive officer William Wongsaid.

"When Wi-Fi comes in,the cost of carrying datawill be around one-tenth.If they want to offload thetraffic on 3G or 4G andmove it to Wi-Fi, theoperating expenses willbe dramatically reduced.That's what exactly wesee in Japan," he added.

The company is work-ing with a host of opera-tors and they are bullishand determined on Wi-Ficonnectivity. "They willbe doing in phased man-ner. Some of them havestarted in trail phase,"Pandey said, declining toname the operators.

The company metTelecom SecretaryRakesh Garg inSeptember 2014.Communications and ITMinister Ravi ShankarPrasad went to Japan afterPrime Minister NarendraModi's visit. Prasadinspected the UTStarcomdeployment there.

"We have deployedmore than 500,000hotspots (Wi-Fi area),which means 1.5 millionaccess points. The tele-com secretary showedinterest to replicate it inIndia," Pandey said.

The Indian governmentis extremely keen onspeedy rollout of Wi-Fiservices in the country.

"No policy problems.We have met all the tele-com operators and theyare finalising their budg-ets for Wi-Fi. The compa-ny is ready for deploy-ment. We have expertise

available. So it's not achallenge for us," Pandeyadded.

The company isfocussing on the govern-ment's National OpticalFibre Network (NOFN)that will help it to deployWi-Fi in rural areas.NOFN is set to link 600million rural citizens ofIndia across 250,000

gram panchayats spreadover 6,600 blocks and631 districts through abroadband optical fibrenetwork.

"We talk about afford-able connectivity. Byaffordable connectivity,we are looking at thingslike what the country isalready doing in 4Gdeployment. There is lack

of spectrum. One of thequickest ways to reachhigh percentage ofdeployment would be theadoption of Wi-Fi," Wongsaid.

"We did half a millionin Japan in half a year.With NOFN on schedule,we could be couplinghand in hand with NOFNdeployment. The minute

NOFN deployment isdone we can connectplaces with Wi-Fi," headded.

Wong said UTStarcom'splatform supports a verydense number of hotspots.One controller can man-age up to 120,000hotspots.

"Now we are looking atthe government for accel-

eration in deployment inboth public and privatesectors. The Modi gov-ernment is active in con-necting not just theMetros but also ruralareas. So, I believe theyare taking the right steps.So India can catch up onthe global stage," ShalinShah, general manager,India operations,UTStarcom, said.

It has been less than a month sinceSony's PlayStation Network(PSN) was brought down during

Christmas. In the interim the compa-ny has promised an extension offive days on existing user'sPlayStation Plus subscriptionsas well as a 10 percent discounton the PlayStation Store.

While the former has beenimplemented automatically, thedetails of the latter have finallybeen outlined on the company'sblog. PSN users can claim their10 percent discount from thePlayStation Store from Fridayuntil 9am GMT (2:30pm IST)January 26.

The discounts cover every-thing on the store with an obvi-ous set of exclusions.These include sub-scriptions for PSPlus, pre-orders andt r a n s a c t i o n smade on

PlayStationStore via the PS Vita, PlayStationTV or PlayStation Portable. The codemust be redeemed at checkout, eitherthrough your PS3, PS4 or online atSony's digital storefront. For India,

the code is as follows: R99P6BR9FG.

The blog also outlines that youcan't claim discounts on Sony's

M u s i cUnlimited serv-

ice or rental videocontent, both ofwhich do not work inIndia due to contentlicensing restric-tions.

In light of a host of new gamesmaking it to the PlayStation Store inthe coming days such as Dying Light

and Grim Fandango, removingthe discounts on pre-orders makethis a token gesture at best.Reason being, for most digitalbuyers, pre-orders are a biggerdraw.

Nonetheless, the 10 percent dis-count will work on already dis-counted games as stated by Sonyin an earlier post.

NEW DELHI | SATURDAY | JAN 24, 2015SAADDA HAQScience & Tech6

1. Greta Garbo is associated withA. Classical dance B. LiteratureC. Journalism D. Acting

2. Who is the Flying Sikh of India?A. Mohinder Singh B. Joginder SinghC. Ajit Pal Singh D. Milkha singh

3. Ben kingsley is associated with which of the follow-ing fields?A. Politics B. Social ServiceC. Sports D. Motion Pictures

4. In which of the following dance forms 'GuruKelucharan Mohapatra' is associated with?A. Odissi B. BharathanatiyamC. Kathak D. Kathakali

5. Bismillah Khan was associated with?A. Sarod B. ShehnaiC. Flute D. Tabla

QUIZ TIME

Answer: 1(D), 2 (D), 3(D), 4(A), 5(B)

12.00 am Saath Nibhaana Saathiya 12.30 am Diya aur Baati Hum 01.00 am Ye Hai Mohabbatein 01.30 am Iss Pyaar Ko Kya NaamDoon...Ek Baar Phir 02.00 am Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai 02.30 am Veera: Ek Veer Ki Ardaas 03.00 am Tu Mera Hero 03.30 am Suhani Si Ek Ladki 04.00 am Saath Nibhaana Saathiya 04.30 am Everest 05.00 am Diya aur Baati Hum 05.30 am Nisha Aur Uske Cousins 06.00 am Iss Pyaar Ko Kya NaamDoon...Ek Baar Phir 06.30 am Ye Hai Mohabbatein 07.00 am Saath Nibhaana Saathiya 07.30 am Veera: Ek Veer Ki Ardaas 08.00 am Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai 08.30 am Suhani Si Ek Ladki 09.00 am Diya aur Baati Hum 09.30 am Ye Hai Mohabbatein 10.00 am Saath Nibhaana Saathiya 10.30 am Tu Mera Hero 11.00 am Veera: Ek Veer Ki Ardaas 11.30 am Iss Pyaar Ko Kya NaamDoon...Ek Baar Phir 12.00 pm Diya aur Baati Hum 12.30 pm Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai 01.00 pm Ye Hai Mohabbatein 01.30 pm Tu Mera Hero 02.00 pm Everest 02.30 pm Diya aur Baati Hum 03.00 pm Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai 03.30 pm Suhani Si Ek Ladki 04.00 pm Saath Nibhaana Saathiya 04.30 pm Nisha Aur Uske Cousins 05.00 pm Veera: Ek Veer Ki Ardaas 05.30 pm Ye Hai Mohabbatein 06.00 pm Iss Pyaar Ko Kya NaamDoon...Ek Baar Phir 06.30 pm Suhani Si Ek Ladki 07.00 pm Saath Nibhaana Saathiya 07.30 pm Ye Hai Mohabbatein 08.00 pm Tu Mera Hero 08.30 pm Nisha Aur Uske Cousins 09.00 pm Diya aur Baati Hum 09.30 pm Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai 10.00 pm Everest 10.30 pm Veera: Ek Veer Ki Ardaas 11.00 pm Ye Hai Mohabbatein 11.30 pm Tu Mera Hero ___________________________

12.00 am Teleshopping 02.00 am Maharakshak Aryan

03.00 am Neeli Chatri Waale 04.00 am Baba Ramdev Ka Yog 05.00 am Narayan Seva 06.00 am Creflo Dollar and Taffi

Dollar 06.30 am Glory To God 07.00 am Teleshopping 09.00 am Kahani Ab Tak 09.30 am Exposure Jhalak

10.00 am Programme Episode 12.00 pm Neeli Chatri Waale 01.00 pm Maharakshak Aryan 02.00 pm Programme Episode 07.00 pm Maharakshak Aryan 08.00 pm Neeli Chatri Waale 09.00 pm SaReGaMaPa L'il Champs

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12.00 am Bigg Boss 01.00 am Telebrands 02.00 am Home Shop 18 05.00 am Iskcon Aarti 05.30 am Jesus Calls Ministry 06.00 am Telebrands 07.00 am Narayan Sewa Sansthan

Trust 07.30 am Home Shop 18 12.00 pm Bigg Boss

07.00 pm Shastri Sisters 07.30 pm Sasural Simar Ka 08.00 pm Balika Vadhu - Kacchi

Umar Ke Pakke Rishte 08.30 pm Udann 09.00 pm Bigg Boss

10.30 pm Code Red ___________________________

12.00 am Comedy Classes 12.30 am Comedy Classes 01.00 am Supercops vsSupervillains... Shapath : TimeMachine Special 02.00 am Best of Savdhaan India:India Fights Back : Up Fights Back 03.00 am Pukaar 04.00 am Supercops vsSupervillains... Shapath : TimeMachine Special 05.00 am Best Of Savdhaan India :Mumbai Fights Back 06.00 am Best of Savdhaan India:India Fights Back : Up Fights Back 07.00 am Best of Savdhaan India:India Fights Back : @11 - Crime Alert 07.30 am Mere Rang Mein RangneWali 08.00 am Mahakumbh - Ek

Rahasaya Ek Kahani ! : KahaniRudra Ki 08.30 am Comedy Classes 09.00 am Mere Rang Mein RangneWali 09.30 am Ajeeb Daastaan Hai Ye 10.00 am Mahakumbh - EkRahasaya Ek Kahani ! : KahaniRudra Ki 10.30 am Mere Rang Mein RangneWali 11.00 am Ajeeb Daastaan Hai Ye 11.30 am Mahakumbh - Ek RahasayaEk Kahani ! : Kahani Rudra Ki 12.00 pm Best of Savdhaan India:India Fights Back (2) : Up Fights Back 01.00 pm Best of Savdhaan India:India Fights Back (2) : Up Fights Back 02.00 pm Best of Savdhaan India:India Fights Back (2) : Up Fights Back 03.00 pm Best of Savdhaan India:India Fights Back (2) : Up Fights Back 04.00 pm Best Of Savdhaan India:Delhi Fights Back 05.00 pm Best of Savdhaan India:India Fights Back (2) : Up Fights Back 06.00 pm Best of Savdhaan India:India Fights Back : @11 - Crime Alert 06.30 pm Best of Savdhaan India:India Fights Back 07.30 pm Mere Rang Mein RangneWali 08.00 pm Mahakumbh - EkRahasaya Ek Kahani ! 08.30 pm Pukaar 09.30 pm Ajeeb Daastaan Hai Ye 10.00 pm Comedy Classes 10.30 pm Savdhaan India: IndiaFights Back (2) 11.30 pm Mahakumbh - Ek RahasayaEk Kahani ! ___________________________

12.00 am Box Cricket League 12.30 am Itni Si Khushi 01.00 am Teleshopping 02.00 am Crime Patrol - Satark 05.00 am Bhakti 06.00 am Teleshopping 06.30 am Bhakti 07.00 am Teleshopping 08.30 am C.I.D 06.30 pm Crime Patrol: Dastak 07.30 pm C.I.D 10.00 pm C.I.D 11.00 pm Crime Patrol - Satark

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12.00 am What Happened Next? 12.30 am American Digger :

Cherokee Treasure Trove 01.00 am How Do They Do it? 01.30 am How Do They Do it? 02.00 am What Happened Next? 02.30 am Destroyed in Seconds 03.00 am Tethered : Alligator Bayou,Louisiana 04.00 am What Happened Next?

04.30 am American Digger :Cherokee Treasure Trove 05.00 am Revealed : Rashtrapati

Bhavan 06.00 am Man Vs. Wild : Shooting

Survival 07.00 am How Do They Do it? 07.30 am How Do They Do it? 08.00 am Revealed : Rashtrapati

Bhavan 09.00 am What Happened Next? 09.30 am Destroyed in Seconds 10.00 am You Have Been Warned :

Freaks of Nature 11.00 am Tethered : Kodiak

Archipelago, Alaska 12.00 pm Factory Made (2) 12.30 pm Factory Made (2) 01.00 pm Man Vs. Wild : Deserted

Island 02.00 pm Factory Made (2) 02.30 pm Factory Made (2) 03.00 pm Rampage! : Weather

Rampage 2 04.00 pm How Do They Do it? 04.30 pm How Do They Do it?

05.00 pm American Digger :Moonshine Money 05.30 pm American Digger : New World Treasure 06.00 pm Dual Survival (3) 07.00 pm I Shouldn't BE Alive (3) :

Nightmare on the Mountain 08.00 pm Man Vs. Wild 09.00 pm What Happened Next? 09.30 pm Destroyed in Seconds 10.00 pm Food Factory 10.30 pm Food Factory 11.00 pm A Haunting

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12.00 am Infomercial 09.00 am Chala Mussaddi... Office Office 12.00 pm Sikander Sadak Ka 03.00 pm Gunehgar 06.00 pm Corporate 09.00 pm Mr. Badmash _________________________

12.00 am Aan: Men at Work 02.00 am Jaane Hoga Kya 04.15 am Filler 04.45 am Sadiyaan 08.31 am Hum Hain Kamaal Ke 10.37 am Yamlok 01.23 pm Karma 04.53 pm God Tussi Great Ho 08.00 pm Vivah

TV Channels Schedule TODAY’S STARARIES You're never at a loss for an opinion, Aries, and today is no

exception. The energy of the day is such that you're happierlistening to conversations than participating in them. You can'thelp but smile at the misinformation that gets bandied about.Since no one has bothered to ask for your opinion, you aren'tabout to offer it today. Tomorrow is another matter entirely.

TAURUS Finances are highlighted for you today, Taurus. Thisisn't necessarily a good or bad thing - it just is. Spendas much time as necessary sorting out your recordsand making sure everything is in good order. It's nevertoo early to collect receipts and get organized. Youmay feel inspired to concentrate on budgeting as well.

GEMINI Conversation and travel are highlighted today, Gemini. You may sitnext to someone fascinating on a plane ride. You two have much incommon, and the time will pass quickly as you enjoy discoveringmore about one another. You're likely to exchange phone numbers,if not kisses, by the end of the trip. There's no denying the chemistry.The question remains whether you will act on it or not.

CANCER Today you may take a look around your home and see whatneeds improvement, Cancer. A pending visit from a friend or rel-ative may provide the incentive to get things in shape. A freshcoat of paint and some new window treatments and rugs willmake a big difference. If you don't have time for that, fill the housewith flowering plants as an effective camouflage.

LEO Family, home, and hEarth are on your mind today, Leo.There may be a community event that you attend out of asense of obligation but stay for the sheer fun of it.Sometimes you get so caught up in work and the daily has-sles of life that you forget there's a whole world outside ofwork. It does your heart good to take in a wider view.

VIRGO Today may be an odd combination of social and financial,Virgo, likely a combination of the two in some way. Perhapsyou need to meet with an attorney and end up diningtogether. Or you and a casual acquaintance could decide togo out for a drink. Legal documents are highlighted, so besure to carefully look over contracts of any kind.

LIBRA Even though you seem content with your career, you're ready forsome change in your life, Libra. This is the time to consider joining agroup. How about a local book club? Or if you're more activelyinclined, sign up with a tennis team or local running club. There arelots of diversions to occupy your mind as well body. The real upsideis that you're likely to make some wonderful new friends.

SCORPIO Even though you think of yourself as a rational person, Scorpio,today your intuition is so keen that even you can't ignore it.Rather than try to will it away, why not embrace the messagesthat bombard you? Give yourself this one single day to embracethe possibility that you may have some extrasensory ability.There's no harm in trying to understand the extent of your power.

SAGITTARIUSYou may feel slightly bored and restless, Sagittarius. If so, anopportunity may come your way today that shouldn't be ignored.You may have a chance to take a trip to an exotic locale or attenda class or lecture that will open your mind to all sorts of interest-ing possibilities. Just because you only have one life, that does-n't mean you can't fit many different lives into it.

CAPRICORN You consider yourself a rational person, Capricorn. If you aren't ascientist, you should be. You view life objectively and rarely letextraneous matters cloud your thinking. You're likely to be takenaback by today's extraordinary events. Your intuition is so sharpthat you can almost read people's minds. At first you think this isjust a fluke, but you may be a believer by the end of the day.

AQUARIUS This is your lucky day, Aquarius, and you can expect allsorts of wonderful surprises. You may enjoy a financial sur-prise or someone could propose an interesting and poten-tially lucrative project. Take advantage of any opportunitiesthat come your way today, as all signs indicate that newventures will ultimately prove quite profitable.

PISCES Passion is very much on your mind, Pisces. Unfortunately,you have a lot to do before you can concentrate onromance. Much as you'd prefer to put paperwork off foranother day, you really should buckle down and get it alldone. You will be relieved to have it behind you, and youwill be free to enjoy the evening pursuing other interests.

LG has reportedlyposted a 25 percentgain in its smart-

phone shipments in 2014.

According to a KoreanHerald report that citesindustry sources, LG isestimated to have shippedaround 59.6 million unitsof smartphones in 2014,which is up by 25.2 percent(or 12 million units) fromthe 47.6 million units ayear before, 2013.

While it mostly appearsto be the popularity andthe success of flagshipLG G3, industry watch-ers also believe thatLG's G3 Stylus and theG3 Beat also did thetrick for the SouthKorean company.Previously, according tomarket tracker StrategyAnalytics' data, LG hadshipped around 20 mil-lion units of smart-phones worldwide in2011 and around 26.3million units in 2012,noted Korean Herald.

On the other hand,according to researchfirm TrendForce's data(via Cnet), Samsungshipped around 326 mil-lion units in 2014, retain-

ing its top posi-tion on in the list with a 28

percent of thesmar tphone

m a r k e ts h a r e ,

but lost share from 32.5

percent in 2013.

The figures of LG ship-ments by TrendForce sug-gested that LG shippedaround 70 million units (6percent) of the total1,166.9 million unitsshipped in 2014.

The research firm alsopublished top 10 smart-phone vendors listbased on 2014 marketshare percentages.

In year-on-year,though Applemaintained insecond spot inthe list, its mar-ket share dippedslightly by 0.2p e r c e n t ,accounting foraround 187 mil-lion (16.4 per-cent) of alls m a r t p h o n eshipments in2014. Lenovoand its latesta c q u i s i t i o nMotorola com-bined took thethird spot witharound 94 mil-lion (7.9 per-cent) smart-phones shipped,

gaining 3 percentfrom 2013.

LG Smartphone Shipments Rise 25 Percentin 2014 to 59.6 Million Units: Report

Sony's Promised 10 Percent DiscountCodes for PSN Outage Now Available

'Full Wi-Fi Coverage in Top 20 Indian Cities by 2015'

Sports 7NEW DELHI | SATURDAY | JAN 24, 2015SAADDA HAQ

HOBART, JAN 23Skipper Steve Smith smashed

an enthralling hundred asAustralia recovered from latejitters to enter the cricket tri-series final with a thrillingthree-wicket triumph overEngland here on Friday.

Smith's third ODI ton wasinstrumental in helping thehome side chase down a steeptarget of 304 with one ball tospare after the middle-orderfailed to offer him steady sup-port.

For England, Ian Bell's 141-run knock went in vain asSmith stole the thunder, contin-uing his blistering batting formthis season. England wouldnow hope for India to loseMonday's match to Australia tomake the finals.

Smith's knock came off 95deliveries and included half adozen fours and a towering six.

Australia's chase was off to asteady start with openers AaronFinch (32) and Shaun Marsh(45) sharing a 76-run stand.

Finch, who scored at run aball and struck three fours wasyorked by off-spinner MoeenAli, which was followed by acouple of quick dismissals.

From a comfortable, 253/3,the Aussies were reduced to ashaky 275/5 before Smith and

Haddin steadied the ship.However, next man in Smith

continued his stupendous run ofform even as he struggled to getsupport at the other end. WhileCameron White departed with-out disturbing the scoreboard,Glenn Maxwell and JamesFaulkner failed to convert theirfine starts.

Maxwell, who looked solid inhis 38-ball 37, holed out at deepmid-wicket to Joe Root whileattempting a slog sweep off Ali,who was the most economicalEnglish bowlers with figures of2/50 in his 10 overs.

Maxwell shared a 69-runfifth-wicket stand with Smith.

Faulkner, on the other hand,fell after adding 35 runs to thetotal and sharing a 55-run part-nership with Smith for the sixthwicket. The all-rounder wasdismissed by pacer ChrisWoakes.

Smith finally found a firmpartner in vice-captain BradHaddin, who went full throttlein the last 10 overs to take thepressure off his skipper. Haddinwas eventually sent back fol-lowing a 29-ball 42, duringwhich he smashed four foursand a six.

Australia needed 32 runs offthe last five overs and Smithsteered the side home after a

couple of hiccups threatened toderail the chase.

Earlier, Opener Ian Bell hit astrokeful hundred only to seeEngland lose momentum at theend of their innings at theBellerive Oval.

Put into bat, England rode ona strong 113-run opening standbetween Bell, who struck hiseight ODI ton, and Moeen Ali(46) to give the visitors a goodstart only to see the scriptreverse in the final 10 overs.

Ali's wicket, who missed on afifty after falling to JamesFaulkner (1-53) in the 23rdover, was followed by JamesTaylor (5) as Australia seemedto pull things back a bit.

Bell, whose 125-ball inningswas laced with 15 fours and asix, though carried on in thesame vein, stitching up a 121-run third-wicket partnershipwith Joe Root (69) to onceagain expose the chinks inAustralia's bowling armour.

But rookie Gurinder Sandhuhad other ideas as the youngmedium-pacer finally got Bellin the 43rd over to checkEngland's surge.

Sandhu's well disguisedslower ball got the better of awell set Bell, when the openerlooped the ball to mid-off forMitchell Starc to complete the

formalities.A ball later, Sandhu struck

again, this time sending captainEoin Morgan out caughtbehind for a first-ball duck.

Root, who completed hiseighth ODI fifty, tried to carryon the momentum built by Bellbut fell to Pat Cummins (1-74),who tried to undo the damageafter being guilty of leaking toomany runs in his quota ofovers.

Wicketkeeper-batsman JosButtler (25) tried to add somequick runs in the end butAustralia came up with animproved bowling show in thedeath overs to allow the visi-tors just 27 runs from the lastfive.

Looking comfortable at 244for two at the end of 40 overs,England saw a big slide as runswere hard to come by and thewicket-fall also did not helptheir cause.

The final 30 deliveries sawthree wickets including two runouts and England, who startedoff in bright fashion, ended ona sombre note.

Australia have won both theirgames so far while Englandstand ahead of India, who arewinless, in the points table witha win and a loss from twomatches.

Steve Smith Slams Ton as Australia Enter Tri-Series Final

DUNEDIN, JAN 23A record batting blitz by

Luke Ronchi and GrantElliott set New Zealand upfor an overwhelming 108-run win over Sri Lanka intheir fifth one-day interna-tional in Dunedin Friday.

In a stunning display ofpower hitting, Ronchi (170not out) and Elliott (104not out) bludgeoned anunbeaten 267 to lift NewZealand from 93-5 to 360-5 in their 50 overs in aworld record sixth-wicketstand.

Sri Lanka had their owncentury-maker inTillakaratne Dilshan andlooked to be in with achance as long as he was atthe crease.

But when Dilshan fell for116 it sparked a spectacu-lar collapse in which SriLanka lost eight wicketsfor just 41 runs in eightovers.

The end came with morethan six overs remainingas, for the second game ina row, Sri Lanka showedlittle fight in the lowerorder to let New Zealandgo 3-1 up in the series.

In the fourth ODI inNelson on Tuesday, theirlast six wickets were whit-tled out for just 31 runs.

Faced with a daunting

target of 361 to win inDunedin, Sri Lanka confi-dently progressed to 93before losing their firstwicket when stand-in cap-tain Lahiru Thirimannewas removed for 45.

After Kumar Sangakkarawent cheaply for nine,Mahela Jayawardene (30)joined Dilshan to lift themomentum as the touristsreached 211 in the 36th

overBut the game turned

when strike bowler TrentBoult was brought backinto the attack with imme-diate success bowlingJayawardene to start theslide.

Four balls later MitchellMcClenaghan claimed theprized wicket of Dilshanand the Sri Lankan fightwas over.

Dilshan had posted his20th ODI century and thethird in his past fiveinnings in an unflustereddisplay until he mistimed adrive on a slower deliveryand was well held byNathan McCullum at extracover.

Boult was NewZealand's chief destroyerwith four for 44 whileMcClenaghan, Elliott and

Tim Southee took twowickets each.

Thirimanne, deputisingfor skipper AngeloMathews who sat out thegame with a slight calfstrain, won the toss andsent New Zealand to batwith immediate reward.

On a green-tinged seam-ing wicket, Martin Guptillwas gone first ball and therest of the New Zealandtop order followed quicklyas the hosts fell to 93-5.

Enter Ronchi to partnerElliott and they mountedan aggressive assault onthe Sri Lankan attack.

Ronchi whacked his 170from 99 balls, smackingnine sixes and 14 fourswhile setting several mile-stones along the way.

In addition to the world-record partnership withElliott, his unbeaten 170was his maiden ODI centu-ry and the highest ODIscore by a number sevenbatsman.

Elliott, who took 96 ballsfor his 104 -- his secondcentury -- showed morerestraint at the crease, andlike Ronchi he offered fewchances.

Thirimanne had the bestfigures for Sri Lanka withtwo for 36 off sevenovers.

Luke Ronchi-Grant Elliot Record StandSets Up New Zealand's Win Over Sri Lanka

MELBOURNE, JAN 23Roger Federer is out of

the Australian Open, hischances of reaching a 12thconsecutive semifinal atMelbourne Park erased in ashocking third-round lossto Andreas Seppi onFriday.

Rafael Nadal is still incontention, reboundingfrom his five-set, second-round win to beat No. 106-ranked Dudi Sella 6-1, 6-0,7-5 in a third-round matchlasting a little over twohours to reach the fourthround.

No. 2-ranked Federercame into the season's firstmajor in form, winning thewarmup tournament at theBrisbane International andaiming for an 18th GrandSlam title. Nadal was com-ing off a lengthy stint onthe sidelines, and hadn'tgiven himself much chanceof collecting a 15th major.

Federer had never lost toNo. 46-ranked Seppi in 10previous meetings, butmade some uncharacteris-tic errors including ninedouble-faults - one to sur-render a mini break in thelast tiebreaker - in the 6-4,7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-6 (5) defeat.

Seppi, a 30-year-oldItalian who had onlyadvanced beyond the sec-

ond round once at his nineprevious trips to theAustralian Open, held hisnerve despite some wither-ing winners from Federer,who registered his 1,000thcareer match win earlierthis month in Brisbane.

Federer also had a 4-1lead in the second-settiebreaker and let it slide.

"I knew how importantthat second-set tiebreakerwas - clearly that hurt, los-ing that one," Federer said."It just broke me to losethat second set. And actual-ly the fourth, I should winit, too. Just a brutal coupleof sets to lose there. Theend wasn't pretty."

Federer has won theAustralian title four times,and had reached the semi-

finals or better atMelbourne Park every yearsince winning the champi-onship for the first time in2004. This was his earliestexit since 2001, when healso lost in the thirdround.

"I had to believe that Icould win," said Seppi,who said he stuck out hisracket and hoped for thebest on match point - aforehand that sailed pastFederer and landed in thecorner. "I was just trying tostay relaxed and just focus-ing on every shot and tobreathe calm and don't getnervous.

"I think I did pretty well.Very well. I'm very happy Icould manage the emo-tions."

MYSURU, JAN 23After conceding a 33-run first

innings lead, defending champi-ons Karnataka fought their backinto the game by pegging Barodato 204 for eight in their secondinnings to put the Group A RanjiTrophy league match on a knife-edge on the third and penultimateday, here Friday.

Paceman Arvind Sreenathripped through the top order ofBaroda with a three-wicket strikebefore first innings centurionDeepak Hooda came up with agritty 67 (135b, 10x4) to prevent atotal collapse, adding 65 runs forthe fifth wicket with Irfan Pathan(28).

Later, tail-enders Swapnil Singh(11 not out) and Gagandeep Singh(19 not out) defied the Karnatakaattack by putting on 38 vital runsfor the unfinished ninth wicketafter Baroda were struggling at166 for eight.

With Baroda ahead by just 237runs with two wickets in hand, thegame is poised for a needle finishon Saturday with both teams inwith a chance to win.

Earlier, thanks to some doggedbatting by tail-enders, Karnataka,overnight 235 for six, came with-

in sight of Baroda total, but in theend, fell short by 33 runs as theywere all out for 302.

Karnataka owed it to Abrar Kazi(35 not out) and AbhimanyuMithun (40) who notched crucialruns to keep their side in the hunt.

For Baroda, left-arm spinnerSwapnil Singh came away withfour for 74 while seamers SagarMangalorkar and Gagandeeppicked up two apiece.Brief scores:

At Mysuru - Baroda 335 and204 for 8 in 67 overs (DeepakHooda 67, Arvind Sreenath 3 for27, Ronit More 2 for 50) vs

Karnataka (1st innings) 302 allout in 100.5 overs (Lokesh Rahul89, Manish Pandey 34, KarunNair 38, Abrar Kazi 35 not out,Abhimanyu Mithun 40, IrfanPathan 2 for 54, SagarMangalorkar 2 for 78, GagandeepSingh 2 for 52, Swapnil Singh 4for 74).

At Balangir - Odisha vsRajasthan, Rajasthan 1st innings305 all out, Odisha 144 for nine,2nd innings (following on) 199 allout (Anurag Sarangi 56, PratikDas 44; Tanveer-Ul-Haq 4/29,Pankaj Singh 3/50) Rajasthan 2ndinnings 42 for no loss, Rajasthan

won by 10 wicketsAt Chennai - Mumbai vs Tamil

Nadu, Mumbai 141 all out, TamilNadu 1st innings 417 all out,Mumbai 2nd innings 232 all out(Suryakumar Yadav 65, ShreyasIyer 52; Aushik Srinivas 3/27,murali Vijay 2/33, Rahil Shah2/48) Tamil Nadu won by aninnings and 44 runs

At Rajkot - Saurashtra vsHaryana, Saurashtra 1st innings238 all out, Haryana 1st innings226 Saurashtra 2nd innings 213all out, Haryana 2nd innings 163all out ( Jayant Yadav 35; DAJadeja 6/63, Kamlesh Makvana3/48) Saurashtra won by 62 runs

At Mysuru - Baroda (1st innings- overnight 320 for 8): 335 all outin 95.1 vs Karnataka (1st innings):302 all out (Lokesh Rahul 89,Abhimanyu Mithun 40, SwapnilSingh 4 for 74) Baroda 2ndinnings 204 for eight (DeepakHooda 67; Sreenath Aravind 3/27)

At Porvorim - Goa vs Assam,Goa 1st innings 175 all out,Assam 1st inninings 435 for eight(Gokul tarjinder Singh119,Sharma 53; Darshan Mishal2/62) Goa 2nd innings 82 for noloss

At Surat - Vidarbha vs Gujarat,

Vidarbha 1st innings 236 all out,Gujarat 1st innings 248 all out,Vidarbha 2nd innings 307 foreight (Shalabh Shrivastava 101,Faiz Fazal 75; Ramesh Powar5/99, Rush Kalaria 3/44)

At Dharamsala - HimachalPradesh vs Andhra, Andhra 1stinnings 301 for six (MurumullaSriram 105; Rishi Dhawan 2/98)

At Delhi - Railways vs Jammuand Kashmir, Railways 1stinnings 213 for four (RohanBhosle 54)

At Ranchi - Jharkhand vsHyderabad, Jharkhand 1st innings556 for 9 declared, Hyderabad 1stinnings 377 for seven (AkshathReddy 133; Varun Aaron 3/98)

At Pune - Maharastra vs Delhi,Maharastra 1st innings 330 allout, Delhi 1st innings 240 for four(Gautam Gambhir 94, VirenderSehwag 66; Anupam Sanklecha4/62), Maharashtra 2nd innings187 for five (Chirag Khurana 63;Parwinder Awana 2/42)

At Agartala - Tripura vs Kerala,Tripura 1st innings 179 all out,Kerala 1st innings 301 for nine(Abhishek Hedge 82; Rana Dutta4/45), Tripura 2nd innings 84 fortwo (Bishal Ghosh 47not out)

Ranji Trophy: Baroda Take Slender Lead, Tamil Nadu Win by an Innings

Australian Open Day 5 Wrap: Rafael NadalEnters Round 4, Roger Federer Crashes Out

MELBOURNE, JAN 23Second seed? Maria

Sharapova sparked herflatlining Australian Opencampaign back to lifeFriday, as rivals EugenieBouchard and SimonaHalep limped into thefourth round.

Five-time Grand Slamchampion Sharapovabrushed aside ZarinaDiyas of Kazakhstan 6-1,6-1, saying she hadlearned her lesson from amassive scare in her pre-vious match, when shehad to save two matchpoints.

But while the Russianveteran was re-assertingher authority, young gunsBouchard, the seventhseed, and third seededHalep of Romania had tobattle past against unfan-cied opponents.

Sharapova, 27, wasfired up after compatriot

Alexandra Panova embar-rassed her in the secondround, saying she wasdetermined not to becaught out again by anoth-er young up-and-comer in31st seed Diyas.

"After such a big chal-lenge... you feel like youhave another life," saidSharapova, who couldseize the world numberone ranking off arch-rivalSerena Williams if shetakes the title atMelbourne Park.

"I started really focused,I knew I had a tough, longmatch previously, so Iwanted to start off strongand finish strong, I think Idid a good job of that."

The Russian, theAustralian Open champi-on in 2008, faces a roundfour showdown againstChina's Peng Shuai, whomade the US Open semi-finals in 2014.

Maria SharapovaBounces Back asRivals Struggle

Kareena Kapoor is busy these days for organizing sister-in-law and Bollywood actress Soha Ali Khan’s wedding.Soha revealed that her bhabhi Kareena Kapoor is a great

helping hand for her. She is organizing everything and veryexcited about her wedding. She is helping her in shopping andplanning things.

Soha said that her wedding to Kunal Khemu, her long timebeau would be a low-key affair. The couple will have a registrymarriage at home. She has not planned any big reception.

"It's a small, simple ceremony with us registering the marriageat home and we haven't even planned a big reception. So there isno need for loads of shopping,"Soha said. She also saidthat her motherSharmila Tagore,had given hersome lovely jew-ellery and theytogether select-ed some beau-tiful outfits.

S o h aa l s os a i d

what her "Amma has advised her, “Don't hurt a man's ego anddon't hurt a woman's emotions." She added that she missed herfather, the late Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, saying, "I wish Abbahad been here on my wedding day."

No honeymoon plans as she would start shooting for ‘Ghayal2’ in February. "No honeymoon right now. We'll plan somethingfun when the weather in Europe is better, perhaps in summer,"the actress stated in the interview.

January 25th is the date set for the wedding and venue is Sohaand Kunal’s love nest. Soha and Kunal have been dating formany years and they were in a live-in relationship. Last year inParis, Kunal popped the marriage question to Soha with a ringand she accepted it wholeheartedly.

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If you're planning on some postparty indulgence, here's why youshould think twice

The quickest way to pamper your-self is to indulge at the salon.However, a recent study claims that asimple fish pedicure that involvestiny toothless carp nibbling away atdead skin could spread deadly infec-tion and disease. And that's just thetip of the proverbial iceberg. So, ifyou have intentions of stopping bythe salon for a beauty treatment, readon.

Skin-tillating? ...not at all! If youhave a weak immune system, or con-dition like diabetes and psoriasis inparticular, experts advise you to stayaway from your local beauty parlour.They warn of the dangers of contract-ing Hepatitis C from the use ofunsterile scissors (through a nick dur-ing a haircut or even a manicure). Awebsite even reports how Americansinger Paula Abdul suffered a longand painful thumb infection shepicked up at a Los Angeles nail salonand testified before legislators in sup-port of a bill to increase nail salon

health standards.

"If a person is already infected witha bacterial or fungal infection andwarts or molluscum (viral) and

bleeds into the water in the tank, thenthere definitely is a very chance thiscould be passed to another client,either via the fish or contaminatedtank water; if this not taken care of it

can be harmful," says skin expert DrKrupa Amonkar. In addition, there isa danger of contracting the Hepatitisc virus from unsterile scissors eitherthrough a nick during a haircut or

during a slip that draws blood in amanicure. A website reports howsinger and American Idol judge PaulaAbdul suffered long, painful thumbinfection that she apparently pickedup at a Los Angeles nail salon andtestified before legislators in supportof a bill to increase nail-salon healthstandards. Mike Comins, chairman ofthe British Association of CosmeticDoctors, says: "Hepatitis C is arobust virus that can live outside thebody for quite a long time and maynot display any symptoms at all. Itcan linger for decades, increasingyour risk of cirrhosis and liver cancer.It's very contagious and not routinelytested for." Adds skin doctor RitaShah, "One has to be careful. If theinstruments are not sterilised proper-ly, there's a risk they could spreadblood-borne infections." Hair andnow! Ever thought a simple blow drycould nix it for you? That's apparent-ly that case.

You can actually suffer 'asphyxia-tion' from a Brazilian Blowdry as amajor ingredient in the straighteningtreatment dubbed the Brazilian, orpermanent, blowdry is said to be

formaldehyde. And inspite of certainrestrictions on the amount of thechemical that can be used, and newformaldehyde-free formulations, cer-tain firms are still selling productsthat can cause breathing difficultiesand other unpleasant side-effects.

That's a scare, not counting smallerwoes like head lice from dirty brush-es! And don't forget hot wax has thepotential to be seriously dangerous ifit's not handled properly or even astroke from a washbasin! If you havemanaged to just end up to with a crickin your neck and shoulder after ashampoo, count your blessings.Research indicates that the positionin which you have to hold your neckwhile being shampooed over a basincould, in a few cases result in astroke, known as Beauty SalonStroke Syndrome.

The result can be dizziness, facialnumbness, and even a blood clot inthe brain. This is especially danger-ous for those with high blood pres-sure. The warning signs are out, nexttime you might want to do a re-thinkbefore your hairdo or manicure.

Can your beauty salon harm you?

Mahek Chahal fromthe challengersteam is the latest

eviction of Bigg Boss sea-son 8, Hall Bol. She wasvoted out in a surprise evic-tion on Thursday. Aftereviction, Mahek said thatshe is not at all disappoint-ed and thinks that GautamGulati will win the show.

“I am not disappointed atall. The voting lines wereopen only for a day so thatis fine. It is the fag end ofthe show. Last time was avery unpleasant stay.. therewere a lot of issues”,Mahek told reporters.

“This time I actuallyenjoyed. I was very relaxedand had a lot of fun,” sheadded.

Mahek Chahal was nomi-nated along with DimpyMahajan, Pritam Singh andKarishma Tanna.

Chahal believes that the

challengers have lesschance to win the show asthe champions are alreadyin the house for so long andthey have developed a goodbonding with the fans out-side.

“Challengers do not havea chance to win. I think it isunfair to the champions.They have been on theshow for so long. The audi-ence have connected withthem,” she said.

Speaking about Gautam,Mahek said, “Gautam ismost genuine. He hasshown all sides of him onthe show. He has made peo-ple laugh, cry… so hecomes across as very natu-ral. He has a good chanceof winning the show.”

Mahek is willing to domore TV show, basicallydance shows.

"I would love to do moreshows on TV. There are alot of dance reality showsbeing brought up. It wouldbe great if I can get somedance-based show," Maheksaid.

Her journey in the BiggBoss house lasted for 18days. She appeared to be acalm person during herstay.

However, things turnedugly when she entered intoa verbal fight with Dimpy,Ali Quli Mirza andSambhavna Seth.

Talking about her fights,Mahek said, “I can't forcepeople to think the way Ido. Fights happen in everyseason. Every contestantinside the house wants totake a stand of his own. Butwhile taking a stand, youshouldn't pass the line oftolerance."

Bigg Boss Halla Bol: Mahek Chahal voted outKarishma Tanna and Upen

Patel’s new found love ismaking quite a buzz.

Audience might having a goodtime watching their coochie-choocie on national television butKarishma Tanna’s boyfriendRushabh Choksi is feeling theheat of Karishma cheating on himfor Upen Patel.

Rushabh Choksi, who runs anightclub in Mumbai lashes outon Karishma for getting cozy withUpen on national television andaccepting his marriage proposal.

In the recent episode, it is wit-nessed that Karishma and Upenlocked lips and when Upen pro-posed her with a ring, she readilyaccepted. Karishma’s boyfriendRushabh Choksi is highly disgust-ed seeing his ladylove falling forUpen without thinking about theirrelationship. He tweetedKarishma’s move as 'outright dis-gusting and tacky' and thanked

everyone for the support they areshowing towards him.

Previously, Rushabh Choksi

called Karishma only a goodfriend but refused to speak any-thing about her but when thingswent out of the boundary, he

breaks his silence and expressedhis feelings on social media.

Here’s what he tweeted:-I think it's time to speak ....

#BB8

Upen you can have her. I'll get anew and better one lol #BB8#WeAreWithGautam

All relationships go through atest a bad phase and shit bt der isway to go about things. What KTis doing is disgusting & out righttacky

His tweets earned him a lot ofsupport on the social media fromall corners, especially fromGautam Gulati fans. To whichRushabh tweeted.

It's very comforting 2 see theway u guys are supporting me. Ithank each one of you from thebottom of my heart. Loads of love#KTisHistory

Boyfriend Rushabh Choksi lashes out at Karishma Tanna

In her upcoming movie‘Bajirao Mastani’, DeepikaPadukone will be seen

duelling with swords. This stun-ning B-Town diva is all gearedup and super excited to play therole of the warrior princess,Mastani. She will have to trainin Kalaripayyatu, which is theoldest form of martial arts in thehistory of the world. She willalso have to learn horse ridingand perfect the art of swordfighting to portray the role of abrilliant warrior princess.

This gorgeous actress revealed“as I have never done anythinglike this before, it will most cer-tainly be challenging. Plus, Iwill have to train for 12- 15hours a day so as to make it lookeffortless and my training ses-sions will go on along with theshoot of the movie”. She furtheradded “the training will beextensive and similar to whatRanveer had to undergo. Therole of Mastani requires oodlesof preparation and hard work”.Deepika seems apprehensive yetexcited about her training ses-sions that will take place along-side the shooting of the film.

‘Bajirao Mastani’ is a SanjaLeela Bhansali directorial andalso stars Ranveer Singh andPriyanka Chopra in pivotalroles. Ranveer has been cast toportray the role of the Bajirao,the Maratha general, whereasPriyanka Chopra will play therole of Bajirao’s wife Kashibai.

Ranveer has already trainedextensively in Kalaripayyatu forthis upcoming period drama,

which has romance as the maintheme. The film is set in the 18thcentury and narrates the tale oflove between Bajirao andMastani. Shooting sequences arecurrently going on and Deepikahas her plate full. Since, she hasto manage the shoot and trainside by side. ‘Bajirao Mastani’will be Deepika and Ranveer’ssecond film together. The twohad earlier set the screen ablazewith their performances andonscreen chemistry in ‘RamLeela’.

Deepika is a brilliant actresswho has a zeal for portraying herroles perfectly. In 2013 this sin-

cere starlet learnt Tamil for hermovie ‘Chennai Express’. Ayear later, she learnt Marathi forher role opposite ShahrukhKhan in the movie ‘Happy NewYear’.

It is inspiring to watch this starhard at work despite her ongoingbattle with depression. In thelast two years Deepika deliveredone blockbuster after the other,while she was constantlydepressed and looking for waysto end it. The starlet recentlyrevealed her struggle and wascommended by several majorBollywood celebs for hercourage to accept and addressthe problem.

Deepika Padukone learns swordfighting for ‘Bajirao Mastani’

Bhabhi Kareena busy planning forSoha Ali Khan’s wedding